


Alternative

by StarGoddess



Series: Shadow 'Verse [10]
Category: Stargate Atlantis, Stargate SG-1
Genre: Alternate Reality, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence (Post Series), Ancient Devices, Ancients, Ascension, BAMF Women, Canon-Typical Violence, Empathy, Established Relationship, F/M, Gen, Graphic Violence, Human Experimentation, Humor, Major Original Character(s), Mild Hurt/Comfort, Mild Language, Mild Sexual Content, Multi, Ori, Other, POV Alternating, Precognition, Pregnancy, Psychic Abilities, Psychic Violence, Replicators, Satedan Culture, Sentient Atlantis, Spies & Secret Agents, Team as Family, Telekinesis, Telepathic Bond, Unethical Experimentation, Wraith
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-09
Updated: 2014-04-28
Packaged: 2018-01-18 19:20:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 41,349
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1439860
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarGoddess/pseuds/StarGoddess
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The story of what happens when Rodney touches things he shouldn't.</p><p>“Danny, my hands are full,” EJ said sweetly, “Would you mind?”<br/>“Sure,” Daniel grinned, then turned to Rodney and slugged him in the arm.<br/>“OW!” Rodney exclaimed, “What was that for?”<br/>“Pushing buttons,” EJ and Daniel stuck their tongues out at him.<br/>“I think you bruised my arm,” Rodney whined at Daniel, “You don’t always have to do what she says, you know.”<br/>“Don’t be such a baby, Rod,” Daniel rolled his eyes, “You’re fine.”<br/>“It was a love tap,” EJ insisted, “You want me to hit you for real so you can see the difference?”<br/>“No,” Rodney scrambled behind Daniel, pushing him towards EJ, “I really, really, really don’t. Danny, make her leave me alone.”<br/>“If I take the three of you to the cafeteria for some lunch before we go the conference room,” Sheppard sighed heavily, “will the comedy routine end?”<br/>The three of them exchanged quick glances before turning back to Sheppard.<br/>“Maybe?” EJ smiled.<br/>“Probably,” Daniel shrugged.<br/>“If there’s jello,” Rodney nodded.<br/>“Blue jello,” Daniel specified.<br/>“Yeah,” EJ agreed, “We’ll behave if we get blue jello.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> The latest installment in the Shadow 'Verse series. Set one year after 'Classified' and two years after 'Aftermath', but it's not necessary to read those to understand this story. I do, however, encourage you to read the three main parts of this series, 'Chaos', 'Order', and 'Shadow', since this installment will reference events that occur in those stories.  
> This entire series ignores the Stargate: Universe canon completely (because I didn't like that series) and diverges from the Stargate: Atlantis canon presented in the post-TV show books (because I'm too lazy to read them). 
> 
> Updates should be every couple days and I ninja-edit all the time, even after the story is finished, 'cause I'm neurotic like that. Tags will be updated as they occur in the story so there are no spoilers...and because I haven't thought of them all yet. 
> 
> Vague Disclaimer: None of the Stargate characters or terms belong to me. I am merely borrowing them for my own enjoyment.  
> Google Translate was used for all foreign languages.
> 
>  
> 
> Please enjoy the story!

“A teacher,” Daniel decided, “An elementary teacher probably.”

“Really?” Rodney looked up from his tablet, “Why would you willing subject yourself to small children on a daily basis?”

“I like kids, Rodney,” Daniel pushed his glasses back up on his face, “And I like teaching people new things. What about you, EJ?”

“If I wasn’t in the Stargate program?” EJ stretched her neck from side to side, working out the kinks as she set her tablet on the console closest to her, “Just a regular translator.”

“That’s pretty close to what you do now,” Rodney huffed, moving over to a large console in center of the room, “I don’t think that should count.”

“It’s the truth though,” EJ shrugged, looking up at Rodney over the back of the console separating them, “I’ve always liked learning new languages. It’s fascinating to see the differences and similarities. You, Rodney? What would you do?”

“I always wanted to be a concert pianist,” Rodney spoke absently, tapping on the crystal controls, “But I didn’t have the heart for it.”

Rodney reached up to press a large, square crystal at the top of the panel. The entire console began sparking and Rodney threw his hands up to protect his face from the electricity as a bright wash of light filled the room. Daniel jumped up from his chair, grabbing the back of Rodney’s uniform jacket to pull him away from the sparks as EJ reached in front of her to pull the main power crystal from back of the console. The console stopped sparking as EJ dropped the crystal to the ground, letting out a quick hiss of pain as she felt the electrical burns on her right hand.

“Medical team to my location,” Daniel tapped his earpiece, still holding a fistful of the back of Rodney’s jacket.

“I’m fine,” EJ insisted, crouching down to pick up the crystal with her uninjured hand, “Just some minor burns. What did you do, Rodney? I thought we agreed not to turn any of this junk on.”

“I didn’t know that was the ‘on’ button,” Rodney pulled out of Daniel’s grip, “I was just trying to bring up a diagnostic screen to figure out what it does. You okay?”

“That was definitely not a diagnostic,” EJ scowled at him as she set the crystal on a nearby panel, “Danny, next time you find one of Janus’ labs, I’m going to order it sealed off permanently, I don’t care what anyone says. That man was nothing but trouble.”

“Next time?” Daniel grinned, “You’re assuming there are still more secret labs out there that we haven’t found yet.”

“I assume the worst when it comes to Janus,” EJ sighed, “Come on, we’ll meet the medical team halfway. You’re both getting checked out with me. Who knows what that machine does?”

EJ walked over to the furthest wall, tapping a sequence on the control panel then motioning Daniel and Rodney through the iridescent panel that appeared. She followed them through and they were met partway down the corridor by several large uniformed Marines aiming automatic weapons at them.

EJ clutched at her temples, gasping in pain as she fell to her knees. An energy shield shimmered into place between the Marines and the three of them as EJ quieted.

“EJ,” Daniel reached down for her, “What’s wrong? What happened?”

“Don’t use the link,” EJ panted out, “Something’s not right.”

“What do you mean something’s not right?” Rodney questioned nervously, “We’re not dying, are we? Oh god, what does that stupid machine do? Did it do something to our brains? I can’t die yet. Jen will kill me if I die before our son is born.”

“Shut up, McKay,” EJ clenched her jaw as Daniel helped her to stand with a hand under her arm.

“Can you lower the shield so we can get to the infirmary?” Daniel asked gently.

“I have no idea,” EJ swayed where she stood, leaning on Daniel to steady herself, “I didn’t put it there in the first place. Atlantis did.”

They heard the sounds of boots running towards them in the hallway and all three of them turned their heads to see John and Ronon coming towards them, weapons held ready in front of them. They reached the group of Marines and EJ’s eyes narrowed in anger as she turned to Rodney again, pulling away from Daniel. 

“I am going to _kill_ you, Rodney,” she shouted, “Painfully.”

“What are you talking about?” Rodney took a step back.

John tapped his earpiece, “Dr. Zelenka, there’s a shield between us and the intruders. Can you lower it?”

“They’re not ours!” EJ pointed an accusatory finger at the group on the other side of the shield, burnt skin splitting as she moved her hand.

“What do you mean they’re not ours?” Daniel asked calmly.

“Look at his arm,” EJ yelled, tucking her injured right hand back against her middle, “I mean, They. Are. _Not_. _Ours_!”

Rodney and Daniel turned in unison to look at Sheppard. Both their faces paled as they saw the black wristband around his right wrist, the skin of his forearm otherwise blank.

“Rodney,” Daniel glared at him, “What the hell did you do?”

“How am I supposed to know?” Rodney shouted back indignantly, “You’re the one who found the stupid lab.”

“And you’re the one who pushed the stupid button,” Daniel accused. 

“EJ's the one that pulled the power crystal out,” Rodney retorted. 

“I hate to interrupt this interesting conversation,” Sheppard drawled easily, “But would you people mind telling me who you are and how you got here? Doctors McKay and Jackson are both supposed to be on Earth. And I’ve never seen you in Atlantis before.”

“This _tâmpit_ ,” EJ gestured towards Rodney with her left hand, “pushed a button on one of the consoles in lab behind us.  Judging by the fact that you know who they are, but not me, and the fact that the AI isn't working, I’m assuming it shifted the three of us into an alternate reality, rather than sending us into the past.” [Romanian: asshole]

“EJ,” Daniel spoke quietly, motioning towards her face, “Your nose is bleeding.”

EJ swiped her uninjured hand under her nose, “Damn it. _Extremely_ slow and _agonizingly_ painful death, McKay.”

“You want to explain why Zelenka informs me that he’s lost control of all primary and secondary systems on this pier?” Sheppard continued cautiously, “And why there’s a shield between you and us?”

“Atlantis has gone into protection mode,” EJ tore a piece from the bottom of Rodney’s tee-shirt, making him squawk in protest.

“Protection from what?” Sheppard questioned, “And against whom?”

“The City is trying to protect what it sees as compromised primary systems,” EJ held the ripped cloth to her nose, “from further damage.”

“What does that mean?” Sheppard asked.

“Compromised systems?” Rodney’s eyes widened again, “You mean-”

“That means I need to speak with your Chief Medical Officer,” EJ interrupted Rodney with a harsh glare, “Sooner rather than later.”

“I don’t think so,” Sheppard shook his head, “Not until you tell me what’s going on.”

“Colonel Sheppard,” Daniel responded calmly, “Right now, your Atlantis sees EJ, and by extension Rodney and I, as a damaged system. As long as there is even the smallest amount of power in the City, there will be a shield between us and your guns. The City is trying to protect itself without harming anyone.  I assure you, we’re not a threat to the City or anyone on Atlantis.”

“Except maybe Rodney,” EJ swore under her breath, “I'm definitely a threat to him right now and I'm going to punch him as soon as I have a free hand.” 

“Doctor,” Daniel sighed at her, straightening his glasses, “Would you mind not threatening anyone while I’m trying to convince people we’re harmless?”

“I wasn’t threatening any of _their_ people,” EJ adjusted the bloody cloth under her nose, “Besides, they don’t believe you anyway.”

“They don’t?” Daniel turned back to Sheppard and Ronon with a small pout.

“Of course not,” Rodney rolled his eyes, “Think about what you’re implying. Would you believe what you're saying?”

EJ handed the stained piece of fabric to Daniel, pulling a small curved knife from behind her back before she stepped closer to the shield. She held the knife at eye level, holding the blade loosely just below the hilt so markings on the knife were clearly visible.

“Do you recognize this, Ronon?” EJ asked evenly.

“It is Satedan,” Ronon responded quietly, “How did you get that?”

“Another version of you gave it to me,” EJ held his stare steadily, “I assume you know what it means?”

Ronon lowered the blaster, putting it back in his holster, “It means you are _kaina_.”

“And you are _kunane_ ,” EJ inclined her head to him, sliding the knife back into its hidden spot, “So you also know that I would never hurt any under your protection.”

“They’re telling the truth,” Ronon informed Sheppard, “They won’t hurt us.”

“We come in peace,” Daniel smiled and handed the torn fabric back to EJ. She put it back in place under her still bleeding nose.

Sheppard looked over to Ronon curiously, “You’re convinced, just like that?”

“She’s _kaina_ ,” Ronon grunted, giving Sheppard a one-shouldered shrug.

Sheppard tapped his earpiece, “Dr. Beckett, please report to my position in the southeast pier immediately.”

“Dr. Beckett?” EJ looked up at Rodney curiously.

“Before your time,” Rodney explained, “The original Beckett died, but Michael made a clone. He must’ve decided to come back to Pegasus in this reality.”

“Do you trust him?” EJ asked quietly, “I’ve only read his files. I’ve never met him.”

“Carson? Yeah, he’s trustworthy,” Rodney reassured her, “And pretty smart, for a voodoo doctor. You’ll be fine.”

“You’re sure?” EJ hesitated, “This is important, Rodney.”

“Yes, I’m sure, EJ,” Rodney smiled gently at her, reaching over to brush a hand down her left arm, “You know I’d have no problem telling you if I thought otherwise.”

“Fine,” EJ turned back to face Sheppard, “Here’s what going to happen next, Colonel Sheppard. I’m going to have a private conversation with Dr. Beckett, in full view of you and your Marines. I won’t touch him in any way, so you don’t have to worry about him being compromised. After we’re done, I’ll try to convince the City to drop the shield. At that time, Dr. McKay, Dr. Jackson, and I will hand over all of our weapons and be escorted to your isolation rooms, where your medical staff can run whatever tests they want to make sure we are who we say we are. I need to be in visual range of both Dr. Jackson and Dr. McKay at all times. If at any point any of the three of us are harmed in any fashion, or if I am separated from Dr. Jackson and Dr. McKay without my consent, the City will immediately go back into protection mode and I won’t make any effort to stop it. I will, in fact, encourage the City to protect itself as it sees fit.”

Sheppard studied the three of them from behind the energy shield. Dr. McKay wore the [standard gray uniform, purple stripes across the shoulders ](http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e268/ZlinkysGirl/Wallpaper/RodneySeason5Kopie.jpg)and jacket unzipped, black tee-shirt, now torn at the bottom, his Canadian flag and Atlantis patches in place on the shoulders. Dr. Jackson wore the same, minus the rip at the bottom of his tee-shirt and substituting an American flag. Jackson and McKay also both wore simple gold bands on their left ring fingers. The blonde woman wore [black, short-sleeved BDUs](http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/amezri/105980/40158/40158_original.jpg), the shirt untucked from her pants, Atlantis and American patches in place. She had black eagle insignia pinned to her collar, her long braid over one shoulder. 

All three of them wore holsters on their right thighs holding what Sheppard recognized as the [energy weapons ](http://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20080502224700/stargate/images/f/fd/Lantian_Weapon.jpg)used by the crew of the _Aurora_. The blonde had an additional holster on her left thigh holding a black handgun and an intricate pale blue-silver tattoo of Ancient symbols covering her left forearm.   

“And who exactly put you in charge, Doc?” Sheppard drawled lazily after he finished his survey of the trio, meeting her violet gaze steadily.

“Atlantis did,” EJ replied evenly, “And it’s proper etiquette to address someone by their rank, Colonel Sheppard. I know you noticed the birds on my collar. My name is Colonel EJ Baran.”

“Dr. Jackson called you Doctor,” Sheppard pointed out.

“Dr. Jackson isn’t military and as such he isn't required to use my rank,” EJ informed him, “And Daniel has earned the right to call me what he wants.”

“I thought you were going by Dr. S-” Rodney started.

“Rodney,” EJ cut him off sharply, “Choose the next words out of your mouth very carefully.”

“What?” Rodney huffed, “I was just going to say-”

“Things aren’t the same here, Rodney,” Daniel interjected diplomatically, “I don’t think Colonel _Baran_ wants to give them any more personal information than necessary.”

Rodney looked back and forth between EJ and Daniel before huffing and throwing his hands in the air.  He turned back towards the wall they had emerged from.

“I’m going to get our tablets. Maybe they recorded some relevant data from the machine,” Rodney tapped a sequence on the wall and stepped through the iridescent panel when it appeared. He re-emerged a minute later, holding two tablets in his arms, already scrolling the data on one of them. 

Dr. Beckett came from around a corner carrying his medical kit and made his way to the group of men still aiming weapons at the shield.

“What seems to be the problem here?” he spoke in a friendly Scottish brogue, “Rodney? What are you doing here? I thought you were back on Earth visiting your sister.”

“We’re not the people you know,” Rodney explained, handing EJ's tablet to Daniel, “The best we can tell, we’re from an alternate reality.”

“Why is it always different versions of you that show up, Rodney?” Beckett sighed, “Right, lower the shield so I can see to the young lass’s injuries.”

“Actually, if you’ll set your kit down and step forward, Dr. Beckett,” EJ spoke politely, “The shield will let you pass through.”

“It will?” Daniel turned to her curiously.

“If he puts the kit down,” EJ explained, “He won’t be carrying any weapons and Atlantis won’t see him as a threat.”

“There are no weapons in my medical kit,” Beckett insisted.

“Maybe not to you, but to others, there are,” EJ assured him, “I promise no harm will come to you when you step through, Dr. Beckett. I only want to speak with you about my medical treatment.”

“Can’t you speak to me from here, love?” Beckett asked calmly.

“It is a private matter, Dr. Beckett,” EJ flicked her eyes to the group of men standing next to him, “One that I don’t wish to share with anyone at this time.”

“All right lass,” Beckett set his kit down and stepped toward the shield.

Sheppard tapped his earpiece once again, “Dr. Zelenka, be ready to shut down all power in the City on my command.”

“That’s not necessary, Colonel,” EJ assured him, “If Dr. Beckett feels threatened, all he has to do is step back through the shield.”

“If you don’t mind, _Colonel_ ,” Sheppard looked her up and down, “I’ll take whatever precautions I feel are warranted to protect my people.”

“ _Cymhleth arwr dwp_ ,” EJ mumbled under her breath, shoving the bloody cloth into her left pocket.  [Welsh: stupid hero complex]

“Was that Welsh?” Beckett asked as he passed through the shield easily.

“Yes,” Daniel snorted.

“What did she say?” Sheppard questioned.

“Never mind,” EJ waved a hand dismissively at him, “Dr. Beckett, could you step over to this corner with me please?”

Beckett followed her into the far corner, EJ turning so her back was facing everyone else and whispered quietly to Beckett. Sheppard saw Beckett’s mouth move, but couldn’t make out the words since he spoke as quietly as EJ.

EJ reached into the top of her shirt with her left hand and pulled out a pair of dog tags, holding them out so Beckett could read them. Sheppard caught a glimpse of a small, shiny, dark silver ring strung on the chain. Beckett’s mouth turned up into a smile as he spoke again and nodded, starting back towards the shield.  EJ dropped the tags back in her shirt and walked back to the group.  

“All set, Colonel Sheppard,” Beckett stepped back through the shield.

“ _Historicus_ , _Custodem_ ,” EJ turned to Daniel and Rodney, “I’ve no idea what’s going to happen when I connect with the City here. I’m already getting a fair amount of feedback, hence the bloody nose. If I lose consciousness, make sure my instructions are followed exactly or the shields will go back up. And do not utilize the link until I figure out why there’s so much feedback. It hurts like you wouldn’t believe.”  [Latin: Historian, Custodian] 

“We understand, _Verus Defensor_ ,” Daniel and Rodney chorused.  [Latin: True Guardian] 

“Better take your weapons off now,” EJ started to clumsily undo the holsters on her thighs, “So Colonel Sheppard doesn’t get any twitchier than he already is.”

“I am not twitchy,” Sheppard scowled at her.

All three of them stopped to give him a flat look.

“Fine, but I have every right to be twitchy,” Sheppard insisted after a moment. 

“Whatever you say, Sheppard,” EJ shrugged. 

Daniel undid his own holster then crouched down to help EJ with hers. The three of them finished unclipping their holsters, laying the Ancient weapons and EJ’s gun on the floor. Rodney pulled a small switchblade from his pants pocket, laying it next to his weapon. Daniel removed a medium black knife from his right boot, putting it next to Rodney’s. EJ pulled out a small black knife from her left boot, a slim silver one from behind her belt buckle, and the curved Satedan dagger from behind her back, adding all three to the pile all the floor.

“I’m going to want that knife back,” EJ looked up at Ronon, “Please make sure it is kept safe, _kunane_.”

“I will, _kaina_ ,” Ronon nodded once in agreement.

“Don’t let me hit my head if I pass out, Danny,” EJ placed her left hand on the nearest wall, “I don’t want a concussion on top of the electrical burns and the migraine I already have.”

Daniel handed the tablet back to Rodney and moved to stand behind EJ, ready to catch her if she fell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's a link to the eye color I had in mind for the OFC - http://fc08.deviantart.net/fs36/f/2008/248/e/a/What_Purple_Eyes_You_Have_by_Octosaur.jpg  
> And the hair - http://www.prettydesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Natural-Long-Hairstyle.jpg
> 
> I decided that the Ancient weapons shown on the show had to have more than one power setting if they were used in the war with Wraith. I mean, let's be honest, would you want to stun a Wraith or kill it?  
> 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bold text indicates telepathic communication. Bold AND underlined text indicates telepathic communication from Atlantis.

Sheppard watched as the blonde woman closed her eyes and her face scrunched up in an intense look of concentration. When her nose started dripping blood again and she swayed on her feet, Jackson reached out to put his hands on her waist, keeping her steady. The energy shield flickered unevenly several times before it finally dissipated. The woman sank to her knees, helped gently down by Daniel as she cursed rapidly in several different languages.

“I’m pretty sure that’s not anatomically possible,” Daniel accepted the gauze pads that Beckett offered, holding them to EJ’s nose as she leaned back against him.

“I really don’t care,” EJ scoffed as she took the gauze from Daniel’s hand, “It’s like an over eager puppy. I threw a stick and got the entire bloody tree back. Our link’s fine, just don’t connect with the City unless you want to get slobbered all over.”

“I think we’d better get you to the infirmary, love,” Beckett put a gentle hand under her right arm while Daniel took the left, helping her to stand.

“You’re a descendant,” EJ looked up at Beckett with a grin then over to Rodney, “Why didn’t you just tell me he was a descendant?”

“I didn’t know that made a difference,” Rodney rolled his eyes, “Is there a word for a person who’s biased based on a person’s genetics?”

“What do you mean he’s a descendant?” Sheppard questioned, motioning the Marines in place around the group.

“He’s got the Ancient gene,” EJ stated calmly as Beckett released her to grab his medical kit.

“How can you tell?” Beckett helped Daniel hold her steady between them as the group started walking towards the infirmary. Ronon and one of the Marines gathered up the discarded weapons, Ronon tucking the curved Satedan knife carefully into his belt.  

“I can't tell for sure, really.  More like I can sense it,” EJ explained cautiously, “I get sort of a tingling feeling when descendants touch my skin. It was quite unnerving at first. Until I figured it out, now it’s not so bad. The stronger the ATA gene, the more I can feel. Feels good. Makes me feel calm, safe.”

“You can feel a specific gene?” Beckett looked down at her curiously.

“Yup, ‘cause I’m _special_ ,” EJ giggled and turned to look up at Daniel, “Danny, I think the AI made my brain loopy. I feel like I did at Jen’s bachelorette party. Teyla brought Roos wine for all of us and we played strip Candyland. I woke up in the bathtub the next day wearing nothing but that stupid fluffy pink boa. I still dunno where that silly thing came from or what happened to the pants I was wearing that day."

“Maybe you should stop talking, EJ,” Rodney offered from behind her, still looking down at his tablet, “Until you're a little less _loopy_.”  

“Rodney, I’m still going to punch you, you know,” EJ spoke without turning around, pouting up at Beckett, “Dr. Beckett, you should use the really big needles on Rodney. He’s mean. And he pushes bad buttons.”

“Certainly, my dear,” Beckett agreed with a quick grin at Rodney, “Just as soon as we get to the infirmary.”

“Strip Candyland?” Sheppard asked cautiously.

“Better than Ronon’s bachelor party,” EJ giggled over her shoulder at him, “Radek made an extra strong batch of that nasty hooch he distills in one of the empty labs. John taught Ronon the Macarena, then the entire male half of the ceremony performed the dance naked in the gym. I'm surprised they managed to make it to the actual ceremony the next day. I think Radek was the only person who wasn't still drunk.”

“I thought we agreed never to discuss that again,” Daniel blushed a bright red, “How did you find out about the Macarena incident?”

“Tizzy kept the security footage for me,” EJ grinned up at him.

“There’s video?” Rodney squeaked loudly, finally looking away from his tablet, “Oh god. You _kept_ the video?”

“Duh, Rodney,” EJ rolled her eyes, “It’s the perfect blackmail material on all of you. Why wouldn’t I keep it?”

“Does Ronon know you have video of him dancing naked with a bunch of men?” Daniel questioned, cheeks still red.

“Course he does,” EJ snorted, “It was his idea to keep it for blackmail. And he’s not ashamed of his naked body. For good reason too, because, honestly, the man is _built_. Don’t pretend you two haven’t noticed his-”

“Ahhhh!” Rodney cut her off loudly, “I really don’t want to hear this. I thought you didn’t want to share any more personal information than necessary. Just stop talking, _please,_ EJ, before you say anything else that will make us all die of mortification.”

“We’re here anyway,” Beckett guided EJ into the isolation room, “Up on the gurney, lass, and we’ll take a look at that hand.”

 

_*Alternative*SGA*Alternative*SGA*Alternative*SGA*Alternative*_

 

 **Were you able to find anything about the machine before they took the tablets away?** EJ swung her legs back and forth as she sat on the gurney.

 **Not really,** Rodney glanced up to the glass windows above them, **Not much more than what you already guessed. It’s some sort of alternate reality transport. According to the data recorded, it was working fine until we landed in this reality. I’m not sure, but I think it might have something to do with the lack of power here. There didn't seem to be any damage to the outside of the machine, anyway, so I'm _hoping_ it's a power problem.  **

**What about the people here, EJ?** Daniel laid back on his own hospital bed, eyes closed and hands crossed across his chest, **Are you getting anything unusual from them?**

 **They’re wary,** EJ mentally shrugged, **which is to be expected. They believe the two of you are human and that you are the people you claim to be. Beckett hasn’t decided what to make of the crystal in our bodies and Woolsey is concerned about the anomalies in my DNA.**

 **None of them have put it together that you’re basically Ancient?** Rodney started pacing back and forth in the small room.

 **They don’t have access to the medical records of the Alterans in this reality,** EJ explained, **so they have nothing to compare. Beckett will make the connection if he remembers the incident with Chaya or Rodney and the ascension machine, but he’s a healer, so I think he’ll keep it to himself as long as I don’t pose a threat. Their Sheppard considered it when I called Beckett a descendant, which is why I had to distract him with the random nonsense. Hopefully, he’ll be convinced it was just my brain on overload and pass it off as nothing.**

 **Yes, thanks for that by the way,** Rodney snorted into her mind, **You could have warned us what you were going to do before you started jabbering. And you’d better not really have the security footage of Ronon’s party.**

 **Evan was sober enough to turn off the cameras when people started stripping their clothes off,** EJ assured him with a grin, **but I did hear about it from John afterwards.**

 **What are we going to do now?** Daniel wondered, **They’ll let us try to go back, right? Even if their Carter solved the entropic cascade problem like ours did, they have no reason to keep us, right?**

 **As long as we can keep the true extent of my _Pignus_ hidden,** EJ stopped swinging her legs, glancing up to the windows where different versions of the people she knew looked down on them, **and as long as Woolsey doesn’t tell the IOA I’m Alteran, I don’t think we’ll have a problem.** [Latin: Pledge]

 **We could offer some of the knowledge we’ve gotten from our reality to help them out,** Rodney considered, **Like Videtur or the alternate power generation systems for Atlantis. What are the chances they know about those?**

 **Slim, I’d say,** Daniel tapped an uneven rhythm with his fingers, **Most of that information Tizzy only gave EJ because she asked for it. If things get difficult, we can bargain with that.**

 **What if they try to keep us here?** Rodney asked nervously, **What then?**

 **We’re not staying here,** EJ insisted.

 **But what if they-** Rodney started.

 **Rodney, I am not letting them keep us here,** EJ swore, **Their AI may be damaged, but it still recognizes the three of us as Caretakers. Unless they cut all power to Atlantis permanently, making them stuck here just as much as us, the City will respond to our commands. We are going home, no matter what they say.**

 **What about connecting with the City?** Daniel questioned, cracking one eye open to look at EJ, **You said it was giving you feedback. If it comes down to it, will that be a problem with…you know?**

EJ hesitated, **How did you figure that out?** **No one besides Jen knows. I only found out three days ago.**

 **Coffee,** Daniel smiled and closed his eyes again, **Learned my lesson the first time.**

 **What are you two talking about?** Rodney stopped his pacing to look between the two of them.

 **Nothing, Rodney,** EJ said hastily, **I don’t think it’ll be a problem. As long as I don’t try to anything as complex as the shield set-up for the explosion.**

 **Well, let’s try to do everything we can to make sure it doesn’t come to that,** Daniel asserted.

 **Why do I feel like that statement was directed mostly at me?** Rodney scowled at Daniel’s prone form in the bed.

 **Because it was, Rodney,** Daniel smiled without opening his eyes.

 

_*Alternative*SGA*Alternative*SGA*Alternative*SGA*Alternative*_

 

“What did you find out about our guests, Dr. Beckett?” Woolsey looked down at the trio through the large glass window.

“Dr. McKay’s and Dr. Jackson’s DNA profiles both match what we have in our medical records,” Beckett answered easily, “Nothing spectacularly noteworthy about them, other than the crystal filaments I found embedded in each of their left hands. I had Radek confirm; the chemical composition is identical to the control crystals used throughout Atlantis’ construction. It appears that the crystal is continuously regenerating within each of their palms, probably powered by their bodies’ natural electrical impulses.”

“And the woman?” Woolsey turned back to look at the doctor, “What about her?”

“Her left arm is covered from wrist to elbow by the same crystal embedded in their hands,” Beckett informed them, “The chemical composition is the same, but the crystal on her arm emits an extremely low-level electrical field.”

“Is that how she was able to take control of the systems on the Southeast pier?” Sheppard asked.

“That’s a question you should ask Radek,” Beckett gave him a wry smile, “I’ve no idea how she took control. But I can tell you, the strength of the electrical field is negligible. It isn’t dangerous to any of the people or equipment in the City.”

“Anything else to note?” Woolsey inquired. 

“Her right arm was broken rather badly,” Beckett frowned a little, “about two years ago from the look of the bone regrowth. There are four pins, two in each of the main bones in her forearm, along with the visible scars on her skin, indicating she had at least one surgery to piece the bone back together. She’s also been shot at least once, in her lower left abdomen, with surgery performed to remove the bullet and repair the damage to her internal organs. If I had to guess, I’d say both surgeries were performed by Dr. Keller. It looks like her work. There is also quite a bit of internal scar tissue and bone regrowth in several places, indicating she's been injured more than just those two spots, and over the course of most of her life since she was quite young, but there're no corresponding scars visible on her skin.”

“What about who she is?” Woolsey inquired, “I don’t know anyone in the Stargate program by the name of EJ Baran.”

“Without anything to compare her DNA to,” Beckett shifted his gaze between Woolsey and Sheppard, “I can’t tell you if she is who she says.”

“Is she human?” Sheppard questioned.

“I think so, aye,” Beckett replied curiously.

“You think so?” Woolsey inquired.

“Either she’s human or she’s not, Doc,” Sheppard drawled, “Which is it?”

“She’s definitely not _not_ human,” Beckett tried to explain, “There are just certain anomalies in her DNA and her scan that I haven’t identified yet.”

“What kind of anomalies?” Woolsey turned to look down at them again, a slight frown forming on his forehead.

“It’s a bit difficult to explain,” Beckett started, “There’s simply _more_ of her DNA than there should be. The same with her scan. It showed increased activity in her brain, but there's no immediate danger from the additional activity.”

“Is she dangerous?” Sheppard wondered.

“I don’t think so, no,” Beckett shook his head, “Just anomalous.”

“What did she say to you when you two spoke?” Sheppard crossed her arms across his chest.

“She wanted to inform me of a pre-existing medical condition she had,” Beckett replied easily, “Nothing that effects my evaluation of her, I promise, Colonel.”

“They’re not going to hurt anyone here,” Ronon spoke up for the first time, leaning against the railing by the large glass window.

“What gives you that impression, Ronon?” Woolsey turned to face the large man.

“The woman,” Ronon made a quick gesture to the room below, “She is _kaina_.”

“You said that before,” Sheppard joined Ronon by the railing, looking down, “What does that mean exactly?”

“There is a Satedan tradition,” Ronon looked over to Sheppard, “of accepting someone into your family when they have none of their own. _Kaina_ means ‘little sister’. She is family. She won’t hurt us.”

“So, what,” Sheppard wondered, “You’re like her adopted big brother?”

“ _Kunane_ ,” Ronon nodded, “I consider Teyla _kaina_ here.” 

“Bottom line?” Woolsey directed his question to all three of them.

“I don’t think they’re a threat, Mr. Woolsey,” Beckett asserted.

“I think we should keep them under guard for the time being,” Sheppard decided, “until Zelenka can figure out what happened to the City’s systems. And see if we can get them to answer a few questions.”

“Agreed,” Woolsey nodded, “Assign a guard to each of them. Dr. Beckett, please keep researching those so-called anomalies and let me know when you’ve figured out what they mean.”

“Certainly, Mr. Woolsey,” Beckett agreed, “If you’ll excuse me, I’ll go get started right away.”

After Beckett left the small observation room, Woolsey turned to Sheppard once more.

“Return their original clothing to them if it's finished being processed,” he ordered easily, “and have the three of them brought to the conference room. I’ll see if I can get some answers from them.”

“Yes, sir,” Sheppard agreed easily, “I’d like to be present, if you don’t mind. I’ve got a few questions of my own.”

“Of course, Colonel,” Woolsey nodded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Satedan terms in this chapter are supposedly Hawaiian translations. I vaguely remember reading somewhere that Jason Momoa was Hawaiian, so I thought it would be appropriate.


	3. Chapter 3

EJ held her arm out while Beckett drew a final vial of blood.

“All set, dear,” Beckett pulled the needle out, pressing a square of cotton against the mark and bending her elbow up.

“Woolsey ordered you to figure out the anomalies?” EJ asked with a smirk.

“He did, aye,” Beckett smiled as he handed off the vial of blood to a nurse, “Do you know what they are?”

“I do,” EJ nodded, handing him back the cotton square.

“Well, lass,” Beckett prompted, “Are you going to tell me? It’d save me the trouble of running all the tests.”

“Nope, it’ll spoil the surprise,” EJ grinned at him, “But you’re a smart man. I’ll confirm your analysis if and when you figure it out.”

“Fair enough,” Beckett smiled and handed her a small bottle of pills, “Have your escort bring you back here before bed so we can change the bandage on your hand. Tylenol for the pain. Two every four hours. I wish I could give you something stronger, but in your condition, I’d rather be safe than sorry. Come back immediately if you feel any unusual pain.”

“About that,” EJ lowered her voice so they wouldn’t be heard, “Is everything…?”

“Perfectly fine, EJ,” Beckett patted her leg gently, “Both of them.”

“Oh good. Thanks, Carson,” EJ sighed in relief, then her eyes widened as she registered his words, “I’m sorry, _what_? Did you say _both_?”

“Aye, both,” Beckett grinned, “I take it you didn’t know that part yet?”

“Danny!” EJ yelled, making the brunette look over to her sharply.

Daniel finished buckling the belt over his gray uniform pants as he came by EJ’s bed, “What’s the matter now, EJ?”

“There’s two, Danny,” EJ got down from the gurney, waving her hands wildly in the air, “What am I going to do with two at the same time?”

“Same thing you would do with one,” Daniel laughed, “You’ll just have to do everything twice.”

“This is _not_ funny, Daniel Jackson,” EJ pointed an angry finger at him, “Don’t you _dare_ laugh. I’m completely unprepared for this. This is...How did this happen?”

“How did what happen?” Sheppard came to join the small group, holding EJ’s uniform.

“EJ is-” Beckett started with a grin.

“Don’t even think about it, Carson,” EJ turned on him with a hard glare, “I’ll break all your test tubes.”

“I was just going to say,” Beckett insisted with a smirk, turning to head out of the room, “EJ’s done here. She’s all yours, Colonel Sheppard.”

“Get dressed then,” Sheppard held out her uniform, “Woolsey has some questions for the three of you.”

EJ muttered under her breath in both Russian and French, scowling at Sheppard as he stood there waiting for her to take the clothes from his outstretched hand. Rodney came over to join them towards the end of EJ’s quiet, lengthy rant, then both he and Daniel laughed when she finished.

“What was all that about?” Sheppard questioned.

“I said,” EJ put both her hands on her hips, “I don’t take orders from skinny flyboys with ridiculous hair. Say please.”

“Excuse me?” Sheppard’s mouth dropped open.

“Say please, Colonel,” EJ smiled up at him, her tone sickeningly sweet, “Ask me nicely.”

“Please put your uniform back on, Colonel Baran,” Sheppard rolled his eyes, “and accompany me to the conference room where Mr. Woolsey is patiently waiting to ask the three of you some questions.”

“That’s better,” EJ snatched the uniform from him, then stared at the three of them expectantly, “Well?”

“Well, what?” Sheppard asked.

“Well, turn around so I can get dressed,” EJ commanded.

“I don’t take orders from angry blondes with authority issues,” Sheppard smirked down at her, “Say please and ask me nicely.”

EJ narrowed her eyes at him, “Please turn around, Colonel Sheppard, and order your Marines to do the same so the sight of my gloriously wonderful half-naked body doesn’t send you all into an uncontrolled lust-driven frenzy.”

“Is she always like this?” Sheppard looked over at Daniel and Rodney, who were doing their best to hold back laughter.

“Not really,” Daniel shrugged, “Sometimes she gets mean.”

“You get used to it,” Rodney nodded, “She’s usually less cranky after she’s been fed, though.”

“Danny, my hands are full,” EJ looked between him and Rodney, “Would you mind?”

“Sure,” Daniel grinned, then turned to Rodney and happily slugged him in the arm.

“OW!” Rodney exclaimed, rubbing his hand over the spot Daniel hit him, “What was that for?”

“Pushing buttons,” EJ and Daniel both stuck their tongues out at him.

“I think you bruised my arm,” Rodney whined at Daniel, then poked him in the chest, “You don’t always have to do what she says, you know.”

“Don’t be such a baby, Rod,” Daniel rolled his eyes, “You’re fine.”

“It was a love tap,” EJ insisted, raising her left fist towards him, “You want me to hit you for real so you can see the difference?”

“No,” Rodney scrambled behind Daniel, pushing him towards EJ, “I really, really, really don’t. Danny, make her leave me alone.”

“If you were nicer,” Daniel smirked at him, “These things wouldn’t happen.”

“If I take the three of you to the cafeteria for some lunch before we go the conference room,” Sheppard sighed heavily, “will the comedy routine end?”

The three of them exchanged quick glances before turning back to Sheppard.

“Maybe?” EJ smiled.

“Probably,” Daniel shrugged.

“If there’s jello,” Rodney nodded.  

“ _Blue_ jello,” Daniel specified.

“Yeah,” EJ agreed, “We’ll behave if we get blue jello.”

 

_*Alternative*SGA*Alternative*SGA*Alternative*SGA*Alternative*_

 

An hour and several bowls of blue jello later, Sheppard brought the slightly better behaved trio into the conference room, followed silently by the Marine guards, where Woolsey was waiting impatiently, his tablet and folder in front of him. Sheppard joined Ronon, Teyla, and Zelenka on one side of the table and after a bit of silent debate, Daniel took the seat next to Woolsey, Rodney at the end of the table, and EJ settled comfortably between the two of them. 

“So,” Daniel looked at the people across from him, “no nanites, snakes, or odd telomeres? We’re 100% home-grown human?”

“It would appear so,” Woolsey acknowledged.

“Good,” EJ looked over to Ronon, “Can I have my knife back now?”

“We have a few questions first, Miss…” Woolsey asked politely.

“Colonel EJ Baran,” EJ shifted her gaze to Woolsey, “Or Doctor, if you’re not feeling very military.”

“Very well, Dr. Baran,” Woolsey responded respectfully, “We have a few questions for you before we return the rest of your things to you.”

“Of course,” Daniel gave the older man a charming smile, “We’ll do our best to answer what we can.”

“What you can?” Sheppard questioned.

“Well, at some point you’re going to ask how we got here,” Rodney started, “and I didn’t have enough time in the lab or with our tablets to figure out the answer to that yet.”

“We’ll put a pin in that subject for now,” Woolsey made a note on the papers in his folder, “Let’s start with the lab itself. What can you tell us about it?”

“It was another of Janus’ stupid, secret labs,” EJ sighed heavily, “We were exploring the final parts of our Atlantis when Rodney noticed some discrepancies between the City’s official blueprints and the actual dimensions of the Southeast pier.”

“We discovered a series of circuits behind part of the wall,” Daniel continued, “much like a hidden keypad. I remembered finding an entry code in the first Janus lab. Rod, EJ, and I opened the lab yesterday afternoon.”

“After we informed Sam what we found,” Rodney picked up where Daniel left off, “She ordered the three of us to take the first shift this morning deciphering and cataloguing the experiments and devices we found.  We were only in there for an hour before...this happened.”

“Sam?” Woolsey inquired.

“In our universe,” EJ began.

“Reality,” Rodney corrected.

“In our reality,” EJ rolled her eyes, “You retired at the beginning of 2013 when your contract with the IOA expired. On the recommendation of General O’Neill, the IOA gave General Carter command of the Atlantis expedition again and she’s been in charge ever since.”

“I see,” Woolsey scowled slightly, “And what is it you do on Atlantis, Dr. Baran?”

“I am the head of the linguistics department,” EJ explained evenly, “as well as the science officer on AR-2 under Lt. Colonel Lorne. I also supervise three labs, all of which utilize the Ancient database for various aspects of their operation. One of them works solely on translating the massive amount of information found in the database, making sure the translated reports get to all the relevant departments.  Another catalogues the sociological impacts the Wraith have had on various cultures in the Pegasus galaxy, comparing the societies as they were in the database to what they are now, as well as prepping all of our negotiators for their various diplomatic missions. The third has spent the last two and a half years attempting to reverse engineer various Ancient technologies we’ve come across using current Earth based materials.”

 **You’re not going to say anything about being a hand-to-hand instructor or the SERE course?** Rodney questioned. 

 **Or the fact that Lorne’s team is responsible for over half the base's SRE missions?** Daniel wondered. 

 **Not unless they ask me directly,** EJ replied, **They’re still under the impression I’m not as big of threat as the two of you. I’d like to keep it that way as long as possible.**

“And how did you come by that position?” Woolsey inquired, “Were you recruited from one of the various American military branches?”

“Not exactly,” EJ smiled wryly, “General O’Neill created the linguistics department for me when I first arrived in Atlantis. Even though he has retired since then, I’m still currently under contract with Homeworld Command. My duties have expanded under the direction of both your counterpart and General Carter.”

“O’Neill created an entire department for you?” Sheppard asked curiously.

“He likes me,” EJ shrugged, “Plus, I didn’t give him much of a choice. I’m very persuasive.”

“Stubborn is more like it,” Rodney mumbled.

EJ glared at him a moment before turning back to Woolsey, “If you’re thinking of contacting the military on Earth to confirm my identity, don’t bother.”

“Any specific reason?” Woolsey raised an eyebrow at her.

“I don't belong to the military. And because if I’m not here in your reality,” EJ replied carefully, “I’m either dead, unreachable, or I don’t exist.”

“Would you care to explain?” Woolsey tapped his pen on his notebook.

“Not really,” EJ shook her head, “I’m sure you have other questions we can answer instead.”

“How were you able to over-ride controls in the Southeast pier?” Zelenka leaned forward in his chair, “The computer locked me out completely.”

“We didn’t over-ride the controls,” Daniel explained, “The City’s AI did.”

“Could you elaborate, Dr. Jackson?” Woolsey inquired.

“When the Alterans first created their flying cities,” Daniel straightened his glasses, going into ‘teacher mode’, “They discovered that because of the size of the computer needed to run the City, it was slow to respond to their commands and required a large crew to maintain its systems. One of the men responsible for the design of the computer developed an artificial intelligence to help operate the City. With a computer that was able to think for itself and make minor decisions on its own, the Alterans were free to continue their lives as they wished, including their research on ascension.  Shortly after the AIs were implemented in all the Cities, the split between what we know now as the Ancients and the Ori occurred, forcing the Ancients to leave their home galaxy for the Milky Way. When the Ancients arrived in the Milky Way, the AI on Atlantis suggested a way to enable faster interaction between the City’s systems and the people responsible for her care, further streamlining the process. A ruling council of nine people were chosen, including the man who created the AI, and they became the first Caretakers of Atlantis. Each of them were given specific tasks relevant to their positions and they all received a small crystal mark in the center of their left palms. The mark allows the Caretakers mental access to certain systems. The crystal's composition enables a permanent open connection between the AI and a Caretaker, powered by the bodies' natural electrical impulses, and the link can only be broken when a Caretaker dies. When that happens, whichever of the Caretakers' children is best suited to the position is called to fill the empty position. The Caretakers roles were passed down that way for millions of years, even when Atlantis returned from the Milky Way to Pegasus, until the last council set the City to slumber ten thousand years ago.”

“Part of the reason the City woke up the way it did when we first arrived here,” Rodney turned to Sheppard, “is because she detected the Caretaker DNA of Major Sheppard. Apparently, he’s been having conversations with her ever since. A year and a half after EJ, who _also_ had secret conversations with the City, arrived she found the subroutine to activate the Caretaker program. Six of the original Caretaker genetic lines were unbroken, but three of them had died out thousands of years ago. The original designer took that into consideration, however, and the AI was allowed to choose people she felt would be able to fulfill the empty roles.  Atlantis chose Teyla, Ronon, and Jennifer to fill the three vacant positions and we activated the program.”

“The AI in your City has been damaged at some point,” EJ frowned sadly, “When I tried to connect to it to find out why Marines were pointing weapons at us, it detected that I was injured and went into protection mode, raising the shield between me and what it perceived as a threat. If the AI was operating properly, it would’ve detected the fact that I’m not actually the Guardian for this City.”

“Atlantis was trying to protect you?” Woolsey’s eyebrows shot up.

“Yes,” EJ answered simply.

“Why only you?” Zelenka questioned, “If you are all Caretakers, why would Atlantis only protect you?”

“There are three levels of access within the Caretakers,” Daniel quickly responded, “EJ is considered _Prima Trinitas_ or First Triad. Rodney is _Secundus Trinitas_ , Second Triad, and I am _Tertius Trinitas_ , or Third Triad. Her connection is more intense than either of ours, so the City would’ve detected her first. Also, Rodney and I were uninjured, so it had no reason to protect us.”

 **Oh goody,** EJ moaned silently, **_Now_ I’m considered a threat. So much for that idea. **

“John,” Teyla turned to Sheppard curiously, “Has Atlantis spoken to you since you arrived here?”

“Of course not,” Sheppard insisted.

“You’re lying,” EJ tilted her head and held his nervous gaze, “When did she stop talking to you?”

Everyone around the table turned to stare at him.

“Colonel Sheppard?” Woolsey prompted, “Has the city spoken to you?”

“I’d rather not answer that,” Sheppard shifted uncomfortably in his chair.

“If you tell us when she stopped talking to you,” Daniel offered gently, “It would help us determine the cause of the damage and help us in our efforts to get home.”

 **He’s feeling grief for someone he cared for deeply and respected greatly,** EJ said curiously, **and intense guilt for what happened. Rodney, can you think of something before the City came back to Earth that would make him to feel that way and could have damaged the AI program?**

“It was after the replicator version of Elizabeth,” Rodney spoke softly, “Wasn’t it?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SRE stands for Search/Rescue/Extraction.  
> SERE stands for Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape.


	4. Chapter 4

The room was quiet for a full minute, Sheppard staring at EJ with an angry and confused look. 

“It was,” EJ finally broke Sheppard's stare and turned to Rodney, “ _Worst case scenario_?”

“I didn’t say that,” Sheppard insisted, shaking his head. 

“ _Worst case_?” Rodney looked thoughtful, “ _Each of the replicator consciousnesses took part of the AI program with them when they downloaded themselves into new bodies. I’d have to reactivate each of them, one at a time, to separate their programming from hers. It would be extremely dangerous, considering we betrayed them, and it would take months_.”

“ _We can’t be here for months, Rodney_ ,” Daniel pursed his lips, “ _Best case_?”

“Excuse me,” Woolsey started.

“ _Best case_ ,” Rodney considered, “ _The replicators simply erased part of the AI within the City. We upload the missing_   _section_ _and everything is back to normal. But there are a plethora of other scenarios that range between those two, including the possibility that the replicators caused some type of physical damage to the circuitry of the City_.”

“ _What would you need to determine the extent of the damage_?” EJ questioned, “ _And how long will it take you to figure out which of the many lovely options caused the damage_?”

“Doctors,” Woolsey began again.

“ _I’ll need full access to the City’s systems_ ,” Rodney’s forehead creased, “ _From the command chair would probably be easiest. And for you to show me the extent of the original AI program, so I can compare the two. Maybe a day or so, depending on the size of the program_.”

“ _Is there a way for us to get back without fixing the AI_?” Daniel flicked his glance to Woolsey, then back to EJ and Rodney, “ _They don’t seem entirely comfortable with the idea_ _of an intelligent City._ ” 

“ _It depends_ ,” EJ hesitated, “ _on how extensive the damage. Atlantis is designed to protect itself. For now, I have it convinced that these people aren’t a threat. If we were to suddenly disappear, there’s no telling what the City’s reaction would be_.  _She could decide that they're responsible and try to punish them._ ”

“ _What if we skip the finding out what’s wrong part_ ,” Rodney suggested, “ _And just upload the backup AI from EJ, overwriting all the current AI_?  _Then we wouldn't have to worry about it, right_?” 

“Ahem,” Woolsey cleared his throat.

“ _If the damage is somewhere in the City’s circuitry, like you said, rather than just a missing piece_ ,” Daniel shook his head, “ _it wouldn’t make any difference. The damage would still be there and we’d have to same problem_.”

“ _Besides_ ,” EJ interjected, “ _Uploading the entirety of the backup AI would require me to endure a massive electrical shock. I’d rather not do that if I don’t have to_.”

“ _You’ve done it before_ ,” Rodney pointed out, “ _So you’ll be unconscious for a couple days. That will give me time to figure out the alternate reality machine anyway_.”

“ _Rodney_ , _no_ ,” Daniel warned, “ _Uploading the AI through EJ will be our last resort. Try to find another way_.”

“If you don't mind-” Woolsey scowled.

“ _What about the alternate reality machine itself_?” EJ wondered, “ _How long do you think it will take you to repair it so we can get back to where we belong_?”

“ _If I’m right about what’s wrong with it_ ,” Rodney smirked, “ _which I’m pretty sure I am, it’s not a matter of repairing the machine, but a matter of generating enough power in this reality to keep the machine functioning properly. In our Atlantis, we have three fully charged ZedPMs at all times, not to mention the all the secondary power generation systems_. _It seems like they only have the three partially depleted ZedPMs we got from Todd._ ”

“ _How much power are we talking to get it working again_?” Daniel asked curiously.

“ _I doubt the lab is connected to the main ZPM power conduits_ ,” EJ spoke thoughtfully, “ _Otherwise the Ancients would have noticed the power spikes every time Janus was working on his experiments. It must either run on the secondary power systems or have an independent power source._ ”

“ _If that’s the case_ ,” Rodney looked over to Sheppard nervously, then back to EJ, “ _We might have another problem_. _The secondary power systems took us over two months to fully repair and activate working with most of the engineering department. If it’s an independent power source, it’s probably damaged, which means either repairing or replacing it. The best thing I can think of to replace it would be a ZedPM_.”

“ _And the only place we can be fairly certain has a charged ZPM_ ,” EJ sighed, “ _is Videtur_.”

“ _Would we even be able to open it_?” Daniel questioned, “ _We don’t have all the_ -”

“CHILDREN!” Sheppard interrupted.

“What?” the three of them replied petulantly. 

“Maybe you could speak in English,” Sheppard suggested lazily, “so everyone else can understand what you’re saying.”

“You’ve been speaking in what I assume is Ancient,” Woolsey considered the three of the carefully, “for the past several minutes.”

“Oh,” Daniel looked at the rest of the room sheepishly, “Sorry, we do that sometimes.”

“We came up with a plan,” Rodney told Woolsey.

“Most of a plan,” EJ corrected.

“Right,” Rodney nodded, “We came up with most of a plan.”

“You have?” Woolsey asked coolly.

“I’ll need access to your control chair,” Rodney started, “for the better part of a day, maybe two, depending on the level of cooperation. I need to determine the exact problem with the City’s AI. If I can figure out what’s wrong, there’s a chance we’ll be able to fix it for you.”

“Only if you want us to,” EJ interjected, “If the City will let us leave without fixing the AI, and you don’t want us to fully re-activate it, we won’t.”

“You should keep in mind, though,” Daniel added, “The City functions much smoother with the AI fully intact.”

“Right,” Rodney continued, “After we deal with the AI, and how long that will take depends on which of the scenarios we've come up with is the correct one, I’m going to need Radek and a couple of his engineers help me with Janus’ stupid machine. I think it’s probably just a matter of insufficient power generation keeping it from working in this reality.”

“If that’s the case,” Daniel spoke excitedly, “We may have a very nice present for you, if we can figure out how to get into it.”

“Present?” Woolsey raised an eyebrow.

“The gate address for the main facility the Ancients used for manufacturing weapons, including the drones used by the City and the 'jumpers , during the war with the Wraith,” EJ explained evenly, looking between Woolsey and Sheppard, “Which just happens to be run by seven rotating _potentias_.”

“We can also give your engineering department the specs for Atlantis’ secondary power generation systems,” Rodney offered, “But it took us two months to repair those systems in our reality.”

“Did you say ‘weapons manufacturing’?” Sheppard’s eyes lit up.

“Oh, give me a break,” Rodney rolled his eyes, “I can't believe he does that in every reality. Mention guns and he gets all drooly.”

“I don’t think ‘drooly’ is a word, Rod,” Daniel chuckled.

“Boys, hush,” EJ cautioned them softly, **Woolsey is currently very unamused by us. He thinks we're children who don't take anything seriously. Maybe you should let me talk to him for a bit, try to convince him we can be professional when the situation calls for it.**

Both men quieted instantly, neutral expressions on their faces as they sat back in their chairs, turning to face Woolsey. 

“I apologize on behalf of myself and my companions, Mr. Woolsey,” EJ began politely, “We tend to get carried away and forget that these types of decisions effect people other than us. We meant no offense by making plans without consulting you. We’re simply used to doing things a certain way in our reality.”

“I understand that, Dr. Baran,” Woolsey replied coolly, “But we are not in _your_ reality.”

“You’re absolutely correct,” EJ tipped her head in acknowledgement, “Drs. Jackson and McKay are similar to the men you know, but not the same. And I’ve given you little reason to trust me in the short amount of time we’ve known each other. If our positions were reversed, I would be just as reluctant to allow strangers to make decisions that could have a lasting impact on this City and her residents.”

“Then you’ll also understand my reluctance to trust someone,” Woolsey continued in the same icy tone, “that I know nothing about, other than the fact you were able to assume control of the city as soon as you arrived and you refuse to give me any way to verify your identity.”

“I never assumed control of Atlantis,” EJ explained calmly, “The broken AI in your City mistakenly saw me as a damaged system. Atlantis is designed to protect itself so she reacted in a manner that caused no harm to anyone. The only time I have connected with your City was to convince the AI that I did not need protection from Colonel Sheppard’s men.”

“Assuming I believe that story,” Woolsey sat forward and crossed his hands across the table, “I still have no way of confirming you are who you say. I know nothing about you, nothing about your background. Perhaps if you were willing to provide-”

“I’m not willing to provide you with any further personal information,” EJ interrupted, “other than what I have already given you.”

“Even if doing so means gaining our trust?” Teyla asked cautiously, “And allowing the three of you to proceed with your plan?”

“Even if doing so earns your trust, for two reasons,” EJ inclined her head to Teyla before turning back to Woolsey, “First, as I said before, if I’m not here in your reality, I either don’t exist, I’m dead, or you will never be able to find me. If I were to provide you with my personal information, you'd still have no way to verify it.”

“And second?” Woolsey frowned.

“Second, my personal life and my background are, quite frankly, Richard,” EJ’s tone turned hard, “none of your business. There is only one thing you need to know about me. I am the _Verus Defensor_ of Atlantis.”

“Which means?” Woolsey raised an eyebrow at her.

“Which means, this City will protect me with everything she has and will do anything I ask of her,” EJ explained coolly, “If I wanted to take control of Atlantis, I could’ve done so at any time. You have no power and precious little to bargain with in this situation. I have been extremely cooperative so far, as have Dr. Jackson and Dr. McKay. My patience is starting to wear thin, however. I'd like to remind you that it is only by my request that Atlantis does not take additional, more severe measures to protect her _Cultores_.” [Latin: Caretakers]

“Is that meant to be a threat, Colonel Baran?” Woolsey narrowed his eyes at her.

“It is meant to point out the fact that it makes no difference whether you trust me personally or not,” EJ replied evenly, “You only have to decide whether you will benefit from our presence or suffer for it.”

“I’d also like to point out,” Rodney added calmly, “The quicker you let us implement our plan, the quicker we’ll be able to leave, and the less you’ll have to deal with us.”

“It’s in your best interests to benefit from our experience,” Daniel emphasized, “We’ve made several advancements that could help in the defense of your Atlantis.”

“It seems I have misjudged you, Dr. Baran,” Woolsey finally conceded, “And greatly underestimated you.”

“Most people make that mistake, Mr. Woolsey,” EJ offered him a small smile, “It’s one of main reasons I’ve been as successful as I have.”

“I imagine no one makes that mistake more than once,” Woolsey returned the smile, “I can also see how General O’Neill was persuaded to create an entire department for you.”

“I didn’t give him much of a choice either,” EJ remembered fondly, “Jack has a soft spot for strays. He really didn’t stand much of a chance against my lost-puppy face.”

Woolsey laughed out loud, startling nearly everyone in the room, “I’m sure he didn’t, Dr. Baran.”

“Please, Richard, call me EJ,” EJ grinned, “I still consider you a friend in my reality. I’d like to consider you a friend here as well.”

“Of course, EJ,” Woolsey nodded before looking over to Rodney, “Dr. McKay, what would be the most efficient way for the three of you to assess the damage to the city and Janus’ machine?”

“I’ll need to check the AI first.  I need to access the City’s main control systems through the control chair,” Rodney straightened in his chair, “and I’ll need EJ’s help for at least an hour. A member of your medical staff should be on stand-by, just in case I can't get around the issue of the feedback EJ was experiencing earlier.  After she gives me the information I need, EJ can show Zelenka the section of the database that has to do with the secondary power systems so your engineering department can get started on those.”

“I’d like to go back to the lab,” Daniel sat forward eagerly, “and see if I can find Janus’ files on the machine that brought us here. I’m sure they’ll need to be decrypted or decoded just like the rest of his work. If I can translate the files beforehand, it'll save some time when Rodney goes to check it out.”

“After I give Rodney access to what he needs in the system,” EJ turned to Zelenka, “I’ll see if your Atlantis has a translation subroutine to help Radek. If the subroutine works, I’d like to accompany a team to P37-020, the planet with the manufacturing facility. Provided the facility is still there in your reality, I’ll need to see if it has the same locking mechanism as the one in our reality.”

“You should know,” Rodney said uncertainly, “We may not be able to open the lock. It requires all three of the _Prima Trinitas_. I’m not sure we’ll be able to figure out how to get around it.”  

“It’s still worth checking out though. I’d like Teyla and Ronon to be part of the team that goes to the planet,” EJ looked at the two of them, “When we finally did get the facility open on our reality, there was a hibernating Wraith Queen and five dead Wraith soldiers inside.”

“Very well,” Woolsey nodded, “Dr. Zelenka, please contact Dr. Kusanagi and have her report to the chair room with Drs. McKay and Baran. She can supervise Dr. McKay’s progress while you are going over the specifications for the power generation systems. I'll ask Dr. Beckett to have a small medical team report to the chair room as well. Dr. Jackson, I’ll have you escorted back to the lab where you can begin translating Janus’ files. Please let me know if we can be of assistance in any manner. Dr. Baran, if you would give us the address to…

“P37-020,” EJ supplied.

“P37-020,” Woolsey continued, “I’ll have the on-duty tech try to establish a lock and we can send a MALP.”

“Actually,” Rodney interjected, “It’s a space gate.”

“In that case,” Woolsey debated for a moment, “Colonel Sheppard, please have your team and a squad of Marines ready to leave in…let’s say two hours? Will that be enough time for you, Dr. Baran?”

“As long as the translation subroutine is working,” EJ nodded, “That should be more than enough time. We'll also need our things back; our tablets and weapons.”

“I’ll have them brought to you,” Woolsey nodded.

“Wait a minute,” Sheppard protested, “Just like that? They’re still a security risk.”  

“For what I understand, Colonel,” Woolsey looked between him and EJ, “They are a security risk whether they have weapons or not. If we’re going to trust each other, we have to start somewhere.”

“Maybe we could start with a nice dinner, get to know each other a bit,” Sheppard drawled, “before we start arming people with advanced weaponry.”

“We had lunch together already, remember, Colonel?” EJ spoke dryly, “I think we’re past the courtship stage. How about a compromise? Give us our tablets and knives back now and you can keep the Ancient weapons and my gun until we go off-world.”

“I’d rather you not be armed at all, Baran,” Sheppard responded easily, “until I determine you’re not a threat.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Sheppard,” EJ laughed, “No one ever said I wasn’t a threat. Besides, how much damage could I possibly do with a couple little knives?”

“I think Dr. Baran’s compromise is acceptable,” Woolsey stated evenly, “Have your team ready in the jumper bay in two hours, Colonel Sheppard.”


	5. Chapter 5

“So…how are we going to go this?” Rodney asked curiously.

He and EJ were standing in front of the control chair, staring at it thoughtfully as Dr. Kusanagi, Dr. Beckett, and two members of his medical staff stood patiently waiting behind them.

“If I open the link and show you the program,” EJ tilted her head to the side, “will you be able to remember it from just one viewing?”

“Probably not,” Rodney admitted, “I would assume the program is too complex. What about keeping the link open between us the whole time?”

“We’d have to stay in physical contact,” EJ shook her head, “and it would be horrendously draining on both of us. I need to check the lock on Videtur while you’re doing this so we’re not here for any longer than necessary.”

“Okay,” Rodney frowned, “Is there any way to download the program into a regular hard drive so I can compare them that way?”

“Not directly,” EJ sighed, “I’d have to type the whole thing out. It’d take at least a week and more hard drives than they have available here.”

“So...not that either,” Rodney’s frown deepened.

“Nope,” EJ agreed.

They both went back to staring at the control chair silently.

“What about-” EJ started.

“No, I thought of that already,” Rodney shook his head, “What if we use the-”

“Not enough memory,” EJ tapped her fingers against her chin.

“Maybe you should go through the system,” Rodney suggested, “and I’ll go to Videtur to check the lock.”

“You need to do this, Rodney,” EJ insisted, gesturing towards the chair, “I can only identify the problems in the system, I won’t be able to fix most of them. The locking mechanism is less complex, I can handle that easily.”

“Perhaps if you explain what you are trying to accomplish,” Kusanagi spoke up politely, “I would be able to help you find a solution.”

“There is a backup copy of Atlantis’ AI stored in the crystal filaments in my arm,” EJ explained, “Rodney needs to be able to compare the backup to what’s in your system now so he can assess and repair the damage.”

“The problem is,” Rodney continued, “the AI program is so big, there are very few places it can be temporarily stored that I can access easily. And while EJ has the information needed, she doesn’t have the engineering skills to fix the problems.”

“What level of access do you each of you have in the City’s systems?” Kusanagi asked curiously.

“I can access any system except the weapons,” EJ turned towards her, “and Rodney can access anything to do with maintaining the City’s systems.”

“Does that include expanding the database’s internal memory as needed?” Kusanagi wondered.

“OH!” Rodney exclaimed, clicking his fingers together, “That could work. Miko, you’re brilliant, in every reality.”

“It should only take, what,” EJ smiled brightly as Miko blushed a hot pink, “fifteen minutes or so to create the temporary storage?”

“Ten minutes if Atlantis cooperates. And there’ll be no electrical shock that way,” Rodney turned to sit in the chair, leaning back and closing his eyes, fingers already moving on the gel pads.

“What just happened here?” Beckett asked curiously.

“Dr. McKay is going to create temporary data storage within the City's systems,” Miko moved over to a nearby screen to monitor Rodney’s work, “Then Dr. Baran will copy the AI program into the new space, allowing Dr. McKay to easily access and compare the existing AI with the original, without compromising either program.”

“You were right about the fifteen minutes, _Verus Defensor_ ,” a look of intense concentration came over Rodney’s face as he spoke absently, “The system is a little too eager to do what I want. She’s giving me more than I ask for, I keep having to hold her back.”

“In that case,” EJ turned to Carson, “I’d like you to hook the _Custodem_ up to EEG and heart monitors. And you might also want to put an IV in to keep his nutrient levels up.”

“Is he in danger?” Carson looked over to Rodney with concern.

“It’s more a precaution than anything else,” EJ assured him, “With the damage to your City’s AI, it’s giving our brains more input than we’re used to handling at once.”

“Oh, I see,” Carson nodded in understanding, “Your bloody nose was caused by burst blood vessels, from the added stress.”  

“Exactly,” EJ agreed, “Rodney’s going to have to interact with the system for an extended amount of time, no matter how we do this. Even if the system was fully functional, like ours, spending that much time with coding running through his mind will be physically draining. I’d feel more comfortable if he was being monitored, in case the stress of maintaining the connection to your damaged systems becomes too much for him.”

“And the IV?” Carson questioned.

“I’m not sure how it is in your reality,” EJ answered wryly, “But my Rodney sometimes forgets to eat when he gets distracted with important work. He’ll need to keep his strength up in order to avoid mistakes and he’s too stubborn to take breaks to eat a proper meal. At least with an IV in his arm, I won’t have to worry about him fainting while I’m gone.”

“I can still hear you, EJ,” Rodney snarked.

“I’m well aware of that, Rodney,” EJ rolled her eyes, even though he couldn’t see her, “You’re going to have to deal with the precautions. If I let you die in this reality because your brain melted or you worked yourself to death, your wife will make my life miserable when I get back. While you may annoy me occasionally, she _terrifies_ me and I refuse to get on her bad side.”

“What’s this, Rodney?” Carson grinned widely, “You got _married_? Who’s the lucky lady then?”

“Dr. Jennifer Keller, our Chief Medical Officer,” EJ answered for him, “He finally convinced Jen to marry him a year ago. They’re expecting their first child, a boy, in a couple weeks.”

“You married a _medical_ doctor?” Carson nearly bent over with laughter, “Oh, that’s perfect, Rodney. _And_ you’re expecting a son. Oh dear. I can’t wait to tell our version of you when he gets back.”

“I hate you both so much right now,” Rodney grumbled, not bothering to open his eyes to glare at them.

“No, you don’t,” EJ insisted, joining Carson in his laughter.

 

_*Alternative*SGA*Alternative*SGA*Alternative*SGA*Alternative*_

 

Sheppard came into the jumper bay two minutes before they were scheduled to leave to find a team of five Marines and one of Zelenka’s engineers already waiting in the back of the ‘jumper. The Marines were all fully geared, P90s and vests in place over their black BDUs. The tall, burly engineer wore the standard gray uniform, purple stripes across the shoulders and arms of his zipped jacket and an Australian flag visible on his shoulder.  He was hunched over, clutching a thick tablet in his hands, absorbed completely in whatever he was reading.    

Ronon and Teyla were standing at the base of the open ramp, Ronon in his regular tunic and pants, Teyla in one of her tight Athosian vests and gray uniform pants, both of them with their regular weapons in place. EJ was sitting cross-legged on the floor next to them, still dressed in her black BDUs, her left palm flat on the floor, her right neatly wrapped in gauze on her lap, and her eyes closed. Someone had given her a tac vest with her tablet velcro-ed in place on the back and both empty thigh holsters were clipped in place around her legs.

When he got closer to the ramp, she opened her eyes and lifted her hand from the floor, holding it up expectantly.

“My weapons, Colonel Sheppard?” EJ asked politely.

“What were you doing?” Sheppard questioned as he handed over her Ancient weapon.

“Tracking Rodney’s progress through the system,” EJ inspected the weapon quickly before sliding it into place and holding her hand up again, “And assuring Atlantis that I’ll be returning this evening so she doesn’t panic and cause him any problems.”

Sheppard had no response to her odd statement so he simply handed over her gun. She took the pistol from him, then frowned as she looked at it.

“Someone took it apart,” EJ rapidly disassembled the weapon, laying the pieces out neatly in front of her on the ground and inspecting each one, “Who the fuck touched my gun?”

“Staff Sergeant Harris,” Sheppard raised an eyebrow at her tone, “He works in the armory. We had to inspect the weapon before we returned it.”

“Well, tell Staff Sergeant Harris,” EJ lifted the clip and sniffed it before ejecting each of the bullets angrily, “to stop eating Cheetos on his break. He got cheese dust on the inside of my gun. I need something to wipe everything down,” she turned her head to the ‘jumper, “Lt. Meyers, do you carry a cleaning kit in this reality?”

“Yes, ma’am,” the Lieutenant opened a pocket on his vest, pulling out a small box. He passed the kit to Ronon, who handed it down to EJ.

“Can’t you do that in the ‘jumper, Baran?” Sheppard questioned impatiently.

“No, Sheppard, I cannot,” EJ answered crossly, “If you’re not going to allow me to have a P90, then I’m going to make sure my personal weapons are functioning properly before we leave. It’ll only take me a couple minutes.”  

Sheppard watched as EJ quickly and efficiently cleaned the weapon, muttering under her breath the entire time about ‘incompetent assholes messing with other people’s things’, ‘cheese dust is an unholy invention that should be outlawed’, and ‘drilling proper weapons maintenance in thick skulls’. Even with the increasingly inventive grumbling, she managed to have the weapon cleaned to her satisfaction and completely reassembled in only four minutes. She slid the weapon into place on her left thigh, then packed everything neatly back into the kit and handed it back to Ronon as she stood.

“Can we go now?” Sheppard asked dryly.

“Unless you want to wait for me to go the armory and kick Staff Sergeant Harris in the shins,” EJ put both hands on her hips, “I’m ready.”

“I think it’d be better for everyone if you’re kept away from weapons storage,” Sheppard drawled, then motioned her into the ‘jumper, “After you, Colonel Baran.”

“I hope you don’t mind if I take the co-pilot’s seat, Teyla,” EJ inquired as she stepped onto the ramp, “I’ll need to show the Colonel where we’re going.”

“Of course, Colonel Baran,” Teyla inclined her head graciously.  

“Please, call me EJ,” EJ took her seat, Teyla claiming the chair behind her, “I’d offer to fly us myself but I’m not that good of a pilot and Sheppard gets antsy when someone else is at the controls.”

“I do _not_ get ‘antsy’,” Sheppard insisted as he sat, starting his pre-flight check.

“So far,” EJ gave him a sideways glance, “our realities have not been that dissimilar. I find it hard to believe that any Colonel Sheppard would willingly let someone else fly his favorite ‘jumper if he wasn't incapacitated or unconscious. If that’s not the case in this reality, I’d be happy to switch seats with you and fly us down to the planet.”

Ronon let out a noise that was an odd combination of a laugh and a grunt from his seat behind Sheppard while Teyla smothered a smile with her hand. EJ was saved from whatever sarcasm-filled response Sheppard had been preparing by the sound of Woolsey’s voice in their earpieces.

“ _Colonel Sheppard, if your team is ready,_ ” Woolsey said evenly, “ _Chuck has been able to establish a lock on the address Dr. Baran provided._ ”

“We’re ready,” Sheppard answered as the ‘jumper lifted into the air, easing down into the gate room, “We’ll check back in six hours.”

“ _Acknowledged, Colonel_ ,” Woolsey replied as the ‘jumper slipped through the wormhole.

“Where am I going?” Sheppard brought up the HUD, showing an image of the planet below them.

“Head for the small southern continent,” EJ directed, manipulating the display with the controls in front of her, “There’s a mountain range that covers the eastern half of the continent and a single large mountain on the easternmost edge. There should be an EM field surrounding the mountain, so you’re going to want to land at least two klicks away.”

“Why can’t we just land by the mountain?” the engineer spoke up from the rear of the ‘jumper.

“Because the area around the facility has been overgrown with trees in the last ten thousand years,” EJ explained patiently, “There’s no place to land the ‘jumper. Plus, the EM field can interfere with the jumper’s controls. Two klicks is a little less than a mile and a half. It’s only a short walk and the climate on this planet is extremely pleasant this time of year.”

“A mile and a half through the forest,” the engineer protested, “Who knows what kind of creatures live on this planet?”

“Only _s_ _kisras_ ,” EJ answered vaguely.

“What is a _s_ _kisras_?” Sheppard asked cautiously, glancing over to EJ.

“It’s sort of a cross between a large boar,” EJ replied thoughtfully, “and a miniature giraffe. It’s got short green fur with brown speckles. It’s mostly harmless, unless you disturb its nesting grounds. They’re nocturnal though, so we probably won’t see any, unless we stay overnight. It’s a pity, really.”

“A pity?” Sheppard headed toward the landing spot EJ indicated.

“Yeah, they taste _fantastic_ when you cook them over an open fire,” EJ grinned.

“Really?” Ronon sat forward eagerly, “How difficult are they to hunt?”

“Not that difficult. They're easy to find, but a bit harder to take down because of their large size,” EJ shrugged, “They breed like crazy and grow to full size incredibly fast, so they’re pretty abundant on the southern continent. The contingent stationed on the planet in my reality usually catches one or two a week. One _skisras_ is usually big enough to provide the thirty people stationed there with fresh meat for a week. If they manage to catch two, they send the second back to Atlantis.  The hardest part of the whole thing is cleaning all the fur off and gutting it so it can be cooked properly.”

“People actually hunt these creatures?” the engineer asked incredulously, “And _eat_ them?”

“Don’t tell the xenobiologists,” EJ grinned again, “But they taste like thick apple-smoked bacon.”

“Hey, Shep,” Ronon started.

“Not this time, Chewie,” Sheppard commanded easily, “Let’s find out if there are Wraith waiting for us before we start making breakfast plans.”

“There are Wraith here too?” the engineer squeaked, the sound incongruous with his large size.

“There _might_ be a Wraith Queen inside the facility,” EJ barely refrained from rolling her eyes at the man, “But don’t worry, she’s probably the only one still alive and she’s most likely hibernating.”

“A WRAITH _QUEEN_?” the man exclaimed, “ _Most likely_ hibernating?”

“Is it too late to bring Radek instead?” EJ questioned under her breath as the engineer began to hyperventilate in the back of the ‘jumper.

“Dr. Grimes does not go off-world often,” Teyla explained quietly.

The Marine lieutenant sitting next to the engineer took the tablet from his hands before shoving the man’s head between his own knees and ordering him to take deep breaths.

“Yes, I can see that,” EJ turned around to look at the engineer, eyes lit up with barely contained mirth, “Don’t worry, Dr. Grimes. She probably hasn’t fed in over ten thousand years. It shouldn’t take more than a couple dozen shots to kill her.”

“A COUPLE DOZEN?” Grimes yelled, sitting up quickly, panic in his eyes as he looked at her.

“And maybe a grenade or two,” EJ nodded sincerely, “Couple dozen shots and three grenades, tops. You brought extra C4, just in case, right?”

The engineer’s eyes rolled back in his head as he passed out and fell against the annoyed Lieutenant next to him. The Marines on the opposite bench snickered as they helped their Lieutenant lay the unconscious man out on one of the benches.

“You did that on purpose,” Sheppard accused her with a sigh.

“Yup,” EJ turned back around, smiling unabashedly.

“How do your CO’s put up with you?” Sheppard wondered out loud.

“They all think I’m lots of fun,” EJ assured him with a grin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No Cheetos, Staff Sergeants, or engineers were harmed in the making of this chapter.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, no engineers were harmed in the making of this chapter, but a silver computer cable gave its life for a noble cause.

Sheppard ordered Sergeant Pierson to fly Dr. Grimes back to Atlantis and return with another engineer after Grimes woke up and flat out refused to leave the back of the ‘jumper. He’d have to talk to McKay when he got back about sending Grimes back to the SGC. No one that high-strung survived in Pegasus very long.

Sheppard let EJ lead the small group towards the large mountain that was supposed to house the manufacturing facility. EJ set a brisk pace, navigating her way through the woods seemingly by memory, until they finally arrived at a large rock wall, covered in overgrown vines and moss.

“Would you mind clearing this section off, _kunane_?” EJ gestured to a particular spot on the rock.

Ronon drew his large sword from the scabbard on his back and started hacking away at the vines. While he was working, EJ took several measured steps along the wall, then reached out to clear a small section of the moss off, revealing a small indentation. She repeated the process twice more, revealing a total of three indentations in the wall. Ronon finished clearing off vines in the section she indicated, exposing a small crystal control panel.

“Thanks, Ronon. There’s a large door here,” EJ waved a hand to the section she had paced off, “Approximately six meters across, eventually it’ll need to be cleared off as well, but that can wait.”

She got her tablet out, plugging the cord into one of the empty crystal slots in the panel.

“Teyla?” EJ handed her the tablet, pointing to a specific spot, “Let me know if that section changes.”

“I do not read much of the Ancestral language,” Teyla informed her, “Perhaps someone else would be better suited.”

“You won’t have to,” EJ walked over to the far right indentation, “The changes should be immediate and obvious.”

EJ placed her left hand in the cleared space and Sheppard saw a veins of blue light filter through the vines and moss.

“You are correct,” Teyla smiled, “The changes are quite obvious.”

“That’s good news,” EJ walked back over to take the tablet back, “There’s still power in the facility and it responds to a _Prima_ the way it’s supposed to.”

“What now?” Sheppard asked.

“Now,” EJ set the tablet down to unzip her vest and lay it against the rock wall as she sat down, “You all go find something else to do while I go through several trillions lines of Ancient code.”

“Lt. Meyers,” Sheppard ordered, “Stay here with Colonel Baran. Everyone else, pair off and start scouting the immediate area. Check in every twenty minutes. Meet back here in an hour.”

“There’s a river five klicks west of here,” EJ said absently, already scrolling through the tablet, “The water’s clean and fresh so you can drink it, but there’s a harsh current and it’s pretty deep, so don’t go swimming.”

Sheppard blinked several times at the blonde woman sitting cross-legged in the dirt and grass, scrolling slowly through the tablet in her lap.

“Right,” Sheppard responded finally, turning away to join Teyla in walking towards the trees, “No one go swimming in the river.”

 

_*Alternative*SGA*Alternative*SGA*Alternative*SGA*Alternative*_

 

Just after the first check-in, Sheppard heard the ‘jumper fly overhead. It landed a minute later and Lt. Meyers radioed his position to Sgt. Pierson and the new engineer. He and Teyla continued to explore the forest slowly and another check-in passed uneventfully. Sheppard was about to suggest heading back to the mountain when Lt. Meyers voice came over his radio.

“ _Ummm, Colonel Sheppard, sir_?” Meyers asked nervously.

“What’s up, Lieutenant?” Sheppard stopped walking as he answered.

“ _There’s a problem with_ …” Meyers trailed off and Sheppard heard an incredibly loud Russian argument in the background before the radio cut off.

“Problem with what, Lieutenant?” Sheppard looked over to Teyla and they both started jogging quickly back in the direction they had come from.

“ _You’d better get back here, sir_ ,” Meyers spoke calmly and Sheppard could hear the barely contained amusement in his voice, “ _There’s a problem with Dr. Babikov_.”

“Be there in ten,” Sheppard informed him, quickening his pace.

Sheppard and Teyla made it back to the mountain in just over ten minutes and came to an abrupt stop when they caught sight of Dr. Babikov. The man was hog-tied, belly-down in the dirt, a long silver cable expertly knotted around his hands and feet. EJ was currently resting her feet in the space between his back and his bound limbs, leaning back against the rock face going through her tablet. Lt. Meyers and Sgt. Pierson were standing off to the side chuckling to themselves, but straightened to attention when Sheppard walked up to them.

“Lieutenant,” Sheppard started warily, “Why is Dr. Babikov face down in the dirt?”

“According to Colonel Baran,” Meyers looked in her direction, “He’s in time-out for being naughty…sir.”

“You let her tie him up?” Sheppard narrowed his eyes at the young Lieutenant, “You didn’t try to stop her?”

“She’s _really_ fast, Colonel,” Pierson tried to explain, “She’s refused to untie him until you agree to send him back to Atlantis.”

“She has,” Sheppard repeated flatly.

“Yes, sir,” Meyers and Pierson nodded.

“I’ll deal with you two later,” Sheppard swore before he turned to stomp over to EJ.

“Colonel Sheppard,” EJ acknowledged without looking up.

“Baran,” Sheppard asked evenly, “Would you like to explain why Dr. Babikov is tied up?”

“He’s in time out,” EJ answered easily.

“Yeah, I got that part,” Sheppard continued patiently, “Why exactly is he in time out?”

“Mikhail,” EJ prodded him in the butt with the heel of her boot, “Explain to the nice Colonel why you’re in time out.”

The man started speaking in clipped Russian and EJ prodded him again, “In English, Mikhail. Sheppard doesn’t speak Russian.”

“I am in time out,” Babikov spoke calmly, “because I made a derogatory comment about the female gender, Dr. Baran in particular, and how they shouldn’t be allowed near engineering systems.”

“And?” EJ prompted, still not looking up from her tablet.

“And,” Babikov continued, “Because I attempted to activate part of the locking mechanism without Dr. Baran’s permission, potentially resulting in the activation of the facility’s fail-safe mechanisms and the destruction of the planet.”

“Proving?” EJ prompted again when he stopped speaking, nudging him harder with her boot.

“Proving that I am incapable of following simple directions,” Babikov recited, “and that Dr. Baran has a much better grasp on Ancient technology than I.”

“Good boy,” EJ praised him, finally looking up to Sheppard, “If I let him up, will you send him back to Atlantis?”

“Doesn’t look like I get much of a choice,” Sheppard shook his head, “Untie Dr. Babikov and I’ll have Pierson take him back.”

EJ moved her feet off the man, reaching forward to undo the silver cable around his hands and feet. As soon as he was untied, Babikov scrambled up and away from EJ. Sheppard motioned Pierson over, giving him a quiet order to return the terrified Russian back to Atlantis.

“Sergeant, please tell Mr. Woolsey,” EJ looked up at Pierson from her position in the dirt, “if he insists on sending an engineer to baby-sit me, let Dr. Zelenka choose. I don’t have the time or patience to deal with morons.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Pierson answered with a grin.

After Pierson left with a grumbling Babikov trailing after him, Sheppard turned to EJ, who was once more engrossed in the tablet in her lap. The rest of their small group had returned and everyone was standing around trying to discretely watch Sheppard and EJ.

“You’re like a female version of McKay,” Sheppard spoke once he was sure Pierson and Babikov were out of hearing range. 

EJ’s head snapped up and her jaw dropped, “You take that back, Sheppard!” 

“I will not take it back,” Sheppard scowled down at her, “It’s the truth. You’ve been here less than a day and you’ve already broken two engineers.”

“First of all,” EJ stood, hands on her hips as she stared up at Sheppard, “If whoever is responsible for hiring your scientists did a better job, I wouldn’t have been stuck with two idiots in two hours. Second of all, I did not _break_ anyone. I made one high-strung Australian faint in the back of a jumper and I tied up one stupid, sexist Russian without harming him in any fashion.”

“Fine, I take it back,” Sheppard rolled his eyes, “You’re not a female version of McKay.”

“That’s more like it,” EJ sniffed haughtily.

“You’re all of McKay’s, Ronon’s, and Teyla’s worst qualities,” Sheppard continued, “wrapped up in a ridiculous, perky, blonde package.”

Sheppard had about half a second warning before EJ reached up and flicked him hard on the ear.

“OW,” Sheppard cursed, “What the hell?”

“Be thankful I didn’t punch you, Sheppard,” EJ smiled in the same falsely sweet way she had used on him in the isolation room.

“Are you always this crazy?” Sheppard asked suspiciously.

“I am not crazy,” EJ huffed, “All of my reactions have been perfectly normal, given the circumstances.”

“Given the circumstances?” Sheppard drawled, “You just flicked me in the ear for no reason.”

“You were being mean, that’s a perfectly good reason to flick you,” EJ insisted coolly, “And as I said, you’re lucky I didn’t hit you.”

“See, that’s not a normal reaction,” Sheppard asserted, “That’s _crazy_.”

EJ reached up to flick him in the ear again, grinning victoriously at his shocked expression.

“Don’t do that again, Baran,” Sheppard narrowed his eyes at her.

“Or _what_ , Colonel?” EJ challenged, “You’re not the boss of me and you can’t tell me what to do.”

“What are you, five?” Sheppard questioned, “You heard what I said. Do not flick me again.”

Sheppard saw the contrary glint in her eye and managed to snap a hand around her wrist as she reached up to flick him a third time.

“Do I need to put you in restraints?” Sheppard asked cautiously, tightening his grip on her wrist and pulling her half a step closer.

“If you know what’s good for you,” EJ’s eyes flicked down to his hand, then up to his mouth, “You’ll release me immediately.”

“You’re not the boss of me,” Sheppard taunted, feeling the pulse in her wrist quickening under his thumb, “and you can’t tell me what to do.”

“Sheppard,” EJ’s tone grew dark, “Let me go.”

“Will you promise to behave if I do?” Sheppard asked wryly.

EJ responded by stepping forward, unclipping and batting away his P90 with one swift, twisting motion.  She continued turning so her back was to him, pulling her wrist out of his grip as she elbowed him in the midsection with her other arm. She crouched down before he could react, using an outstretched leg to sweep his feet out from underneath him. His back hit the ground and she pulled one of his arms up, flipping him easily over onto his front. She stuck a knee in the middle of his back and twisted his arm up between his shoulder blades.

“Perhaps I was unclear, John,” EJ leaned down, pressing herself to his body as she whispered against his ear hotly, “This is me _not_ behaving. Notice the difference? I _dare_ you to try to restrain me.”

Before Sheppard could say or do anything to free himself from her hold, EJ’s weight was lifted off him. He turned his head to see Ronon holding her off the ground with his arms around her upper body, her legs kicking uselessly in the air. 

“Be nice, _kaina_ ,” Ronon dumped her unceremoniously on her butt in the dirt by her tablet.

“But he started it,” EJ pouted up at Ronon.

Ronon crossed his arms and stared down at her.

“Fine,” EJ stuck her lower lip out, “I’ll be nice.”

Ronon nodded his approval as she picked up her tablet to continue studying it, then walked over to Sheppard and held out a hand to pull him to his feet.

“Colonel Sheppard,” Teyla asked calmly, only a hint of a smile on her face as she handed him back his P90, “Are you all right?”

“My pride’s a little wounded,” Sheppard drawled, keeping EJ in the edge of his vision as he clipped his gun back in place, “But I’m not hurt.”

“Told you she was fast, sir,” Meyers grinned.

“I hope you didn’t plan on making Captain any time soon, _Lieutenant_ Meyers,” Sheppard scowled at him.

“Sorry, sir,” Meyers answered sharply, biting his cheek to stop from smiling.

“We’ll wait here until Pierson comes back,” Sheppard commanded, “Set up a perimeter and make yourselves comfortable.”

EJ started mumbling under her breath in Ancient, then stood suddenly and walked back over to Sheppard. His body tensed warily as she came close, but she only rolled her eyes at him and started opening pockets on his vest. She smiled triumphantly when she found the one that contained the extra power bars he habitually carried for McKay. She took one of them and walked back over to plop down by her tablet, ripping open the package as she started reading again.

“Nutball,” Sheppard swore under his breath, then looked over at Ronon, “Chewie, keep an eye on Colonel Baran, please. Don’t be afraid to stun her if she gets handsy again.”

He turned around after Ronon nodded, helping Teyla gather firewood to make a small camp and startled when something hit the back of his head. He brushed a hand through his hair and was met with a small, sticky piece of power bar. He turned to face EJ once more, but the only change in her position was the satisfied smirk spreading across her face. 


	7. Chapter 7

An hour later, EJ was laying on her back in the grass and dirt, her legs propped up against the rock wall, holding the tablet above her as she continued to look over the Ancient symbols. She ignored the small group behind her as they set up a makeshift camp, lighting a small fire and resting comfortably on fallen logs and large rocks that they drug over. They were talking quietly among themselves when there was some rustling in the trees and Sheppard got to his feet.

EJ tilted her head back to see Lorne emerge from behind a tree, followed by Pierson, and a tall woman with short brunette hair she assumed was the latest engineer, each of them greeted by Sheppard. Lorne and Pierson both carried large baskets and EJ set the tablet down as the smell of food drifted over her.

“You always were my favorite, Evan,” EJ bounced over to where he set the basket down, peering inside, “What kind of goodies did you bring?”

“You must be Colonel Baran,” Lorne smacked her hand away from the basket, “I’m Major Lorne, but I’m guessing you already knew that. Nice to meet you.”

“Major?” EJ frowned at him, then glared at Sheppard, “You haven’t promoted him yet?”

“I’m not in charge of those things,” Sheppard looked between the two of him, “How come he doesn’t get yelled at for smacking your hand but I get flattened for defending myself?”

“He brought food,” EJ shrugged, then glared at him again, “And you were asking for it.”

“The food is from Daniel and Carson,” Lorne grinned, “They asked me to remind you that you need to eat properly to keep your strength up.”

“I nicked a power bar off Colonel Grumpy-Pants earlier,” EJ sighed heavily, “I do know how to take care of myself.”

“Dr. Jackson said you might say that,” Lorne nodded cheekily, “In which case, Dr. Beckett authorized me to take your tablet away by any means necessary until you eat at least three items from the basket.”

“You know,” EJ said thoughtfully, “I thought I’d have it easier here without the vampire lady in charge. Turns out I was wrong; Carson’s mother-hen mode is worse than hers. At least when Jen tries to stop me from working, it’s for a good reason.”

“Also, this is Dr. Monetti,” Lorne gestured to the tall brunette woman, “Zelenka sent her. Woolsey asked that you refrain from traumatizing anyone else today.”

“Grimes and Babikov are practically useless outside of a controlled environment,” Monetti snorted before continuing in her light Italian accent, “They shouldn’t be allowed off-world.”

“Oh, we’ll get along just fine,” EJ laughed at the taller woman, “I’m Dr. EJ Baran.”

“Dr. Amanda Monetti,” the brunette offered her hand, “I prefer Mandy though.”

“I prefer EJ,” she shook her hand briefly, then accepted the wrapped sandwich Lorne held out to her, “Let me eat so Evan doesn’t try to hide my tablet, then we can get to work.”

 

 _*Alternative*SGA*Alternative*SGA*Alternative*SGA*Alternative*_  

 

After the two women finished their simple meal, they sat back down in front of the control panel, each of them scrolling through their respective tablets, chatting merrily in Italian. Sheppard left Lorne and Pierson to baby sit the scientists, with strict instructions to stun EJ if she made any sudden movements, then everyone paired off and went to explore the surrounding areas again. He headed west with Ronon this time, slowly making their way to the river that EJ had spoken of earlier, with a couple hours passing of uneventful check-ins from each of the pairs.

Deciding against attempting to cross the river as the sun was setting, Sheppard and Ronon made their way back to the makeshift camp. They were the last to arrive, the sky already full dark when they made it back. Sheppard looked around the small fire, silently counting to ensure everyone was there.

“Where’s Lorne?” Sheppard asked curiously.

Pierson pointed a finger behind him towards the rock wall and Sheppard’s jaw dropped as he followed it to the unexpected sight. Lorne was sitting on the ground leaning against the rock, his tac vest and P90 discarded next to him, with EJ’s head in his lap. EJ was lying on her back in the dirt, her legs across Monetti’s lap, carrying on what seemed to be two entirely separate conversations, one in Italian and one in French. Sheppard watched for several minutes, the two women trading tablets occasionally and Lorne laughing at something that EJ said in French before he pinched her arm and replied in his own fluent French.

“They’ve been like that for an hour, sir,” Pierson chuckled when Sheppard finally closed his mouth.

“Lorne speaks French?” Sheppard’s face twisted into confusion.

“Apparently so,” Teyla patted the log next to her and Sheppard sat down, “Fluently, it would seem. It appears EJ is quite proficient in many of the languages on your planet.”

“How does she do that?” Sheppard wondered, mostly to himself.

“From what I understand,” Teyla followed his gaze to watch EJ, “she has spent many years studying languages.”

“Not that. I mean,” Sheppard waved a hand at the friendly scene, “ _that_. She’s known Lorne and Monetti for like, six hours and she’s using them as pillows.”

“Seems like Baran’s pretty close to Lorne in her reality,” Pierson answered with a grin, “Keeps calling him Evan. I have no idea what she and Monetti have been discussing, because they’ve been using Italian the whole time, but Baran hasn't tried to break this one and they seemed to be making progress, so I left them alone.”

“Progress on the lock,” Sheppard drawled, “Or progress on snuggling? Because it doesn’t look like they’re working very hard.”

The two women traded tablets again, then EJ set hers down across her thighs, reaching into her collar to pull out the chain holding her dog tags. Lorne leaned over to get a closer look as EJ held up the small ring that Sheppard had seen earlier. Lorne’s expression softened as EJ spoke in quiet French, running her index finger over the ring. He replied gently, making her laugh softly as she tucked the tags and ring back in her shirt. He squeezed her shoulder in comfort as she picked her tablet up and started scrolling through it again.

“Oh yeah,” Sheppard rolled his eyes, “That looks like _progress_ , all right.”

Just as he finished the statement, Monetti exclaimed happily, slapping EJ’s boots off her lap and shoving the tablet towards her as she sat up. EJ dropped the second tablet in Lorne's now empty lap, crowding around the small screen the Monetti held, both of them now speaking in rapid, excited Italian. EJ stood suddenly, then skipped over to the farthest indentation and put her left hand in again, calling to Monetti as the veins of blue lit up. Lorne and Monetti both stood, Monetti exclaiming in happy Italian again as she tapped on the screen. EJ walked back over to embrace Lorne, kissing his cheek with a loud smacking noise as she took the second tablet from him. Then she and Monetti did a weird hip-shaking victory dance with their tablets held above them.

“See, Colonel,” Pierson laughed, “Progress.”

“Colonel Sheppard,” Lorne called, motioning him over.

Sheppard got up, Teyla following close behind as he joined the group by the control panel.

“Colonel,” Lorne nodded, “It seems the good doctors may have determined a way to open the facility.”

“I’ve yet to meet a lock I couldn’t open,” EJ grinned, “This one put up a good fight, but after three years, and a brilliant idea from Mandy, I have defeated it! Take _that_ , stupid door!”

EJ stuck her tongue out at the vine-covered wall.

“It wasn’t all my idea,” Monetti laughed, “Lorne was the one who brought it up. I just figured out the practical applications.”

“Mandy, if I didn’t think my husband would find out and kick both our asses,” EJ patted the taller woman on the cheek, “I would kiss you right on the mouth.”

“Your husband is in another reality,” Lorne pointed out, “and I’m pretty sure he’d be okay with it, under the circumstances. I’m sure no one here would mind. Some people might even enjoy it.”

“Christ on a cracker, Evan,” EJ looked at him with a shocked expression, “You’re a voyeur too? You’ve got more kinks than any man I’ve ever met. And I’ve known a lot of kinky men. How have you survived this long following all the regulations of the Air Force and the SGC?”

“Can someone please tell me what you’ve discovered,” Sheppard questioned warily, “other than the extent of Lorne’s proclivities? Which by the way, as his commanding officer, I’d rather not have any knowledge of.”

“We figured out a way to open the door,” EJ rolled her eyes, “by cheating.”

“Technically, it’s not cheating,” Monetti corrected her, “It’s substituting one _Trinitas_ for another.”

“Right, whatever,” EJ waved a hand at her, “It’s not cheating if they're basically the same thing.”

“But it should work, right?” Monetti looked over to EJ, “As long as we locate all the _Prima_ lines and substitute them with _Mens_. Should only take a day or so.”

“We can get started first thing tomorrow,” EJ nodded, “Provided Rodney’s done comparing the AI then. I want him to go over the code before we start, just to make sure. He’s spent just as much time as I have studying this as I have. He’s going to have kittens when he finds out you figured out a way around it in six hours. Can I _pretty please_ take you home with me? You'd be such an asset for our Atlantis.”

“EJ,” Teyla interrupted calmly, “Could you elaborate on your plan to open the door?”

“Oh, sorry,” EJ looked between the amused expression on Teyla’s face and Sheppard’s twitching eye, “The locking mechanism was originally designed to accept only the authorization of the _Prima Trinitas_ , the highest level of Caretakers. It was intended to be another way of balancing out the _Cultores_ power, ensuring that no single _Prima_ could take control of anything vital to their survival. Because your AI is damaged and you don’t have all the descendants needed to activate the Caretaker program, you have no way of opening the facility on your own. Since I’m the only _Prima_ here from my reality, I can’t open it on my own either. However, since the system is coded in a manner that requires a _Trinitas_ to open it, we’re all in luck. Daniel, Rodney, and I form the _Mens_   _Trinitas_ , or Mind Triad.”

“When EJ activates her piece of the lock,” Monetti continued the explanation, “it not only identifies her as _Prima_ , but as _Prima Mens_. I’m fairly positive we’ll be able to change the coding, without tripping any fail-safes, of the other two pieces to accept _Mens_ _Trinitas_ instead of _Prima Trinitas_.”

“After that, it’ll be a minor matter of clearing out the Wraith tech attached to the _potentia_ ,” EJ smiled, “and dealing with the Wraith Queen without blowing ourselves up. I have a few ideas about that as well, however. This time two days from now, you should be the proud new owners of an Ancient _telum_  manufacturing facility.” [Latin: power; word used for ZPM] [Latin: weapon]

“Why didn’t you just say that from the beginning?” Sheppard rolled his eyes, “Does that mean we’re done for the night?”

“We did say that from the beginning, Colonel,” Monetti pouted, “Evan told you we determined a way to open the facility.”

“Yeah, but Sheppard’s brain got side-tracked when he heard about Evan’s kinks,” EJ shrugged carelessly.

“Good point, I suppose,” Monetti grinned, “I got a bit side-tracked at that point as well.”

“See, Colonel?” EJ smiled up at him, “It’s all Evan’s fault for being so kinky. He's the one who distracted everybody.”

“Who said I was distracted by Evan?” Monetti waggled her eyebrows at EJ.  

“Oh my god, Baran,” Sheppard’s jaw dropped again, “Your crazy is contagious.”

“Ladies,” Lorne scolded, mouth twitching up into a smile, “Stop trying to break the nice Colonel’s brain and start packing up.”

“I’m perfectly capable of doing both at the same time, Evan,” EJ unplugged her cord from the control panel.

“Let me just make a copy of the program,” Monetti tapped on her screen, “to show Dr. McKay and Dr. Zelenka when we get back.”

“Major, make sure they don’t get distracted again,” Sheppard ordered with a shake of his head.

“I’ll try, sir,” Lorne nodded.

Sheppard turned around to face the small camp, “Pack it up guys. If we hurry, we can get back to Atlantis before the mess closes for the night.”

 

 _*Alternative*SGA*Alternative*SGA*Alternative*SGA*Alternative*_  

 

When EJ stepped off the ramp of the ‘jumper an hour later, she was met by a stoic Woolsey. She tilted her head to the side as the lights in the ‘jumper bay started flickering, then she stomped up to Woolsey with a furious expression on her face.

“You have exactly thirty seconds to explain why Rodney is unconscious in the infirmary,” EJ snarled, her hand gripping the butt of the gun at her left thigh, “and why Atlantis is asking permission to deny all gene-bearers access to the control chair.”

“There’s no need to-” Woolsey started.

“Twenty seconds,” EJ interrupted.  She un-holstered the gun but kept it aimed at the floor.

“Dr. McKay suffered a mild seizure an hour ago,” Woolsey replied hastily, “Dr. Beckett sedated him and is monitoring him in the infirmary while Dr. Kusanagi determines what happened.”

“You people couldn’t even take care of him one day,” EJ shouted, putting the gun back in its place, “I was gone for nine hours and Rodney ended up in the infirmary. He was supposed to be monitored while he was in the chair. How the hell did he have a seizure?”

“Colonel Baran…” Woolsey began.

“If you have permanently damaged him,” EJ clenched her jaw and turned on her heel to leave the bay, “there will be severe consequences.”

Sheppard and Lorne came up to a stunned Woolsey as EJ stomped off.

“What’s going on, sir?” Sheppard asked cautiously.

“Dr. McKay is in the infirmary,” Woolsey explained calmly, “He suffered a mild seizure while working in the control chair.”

“Crap,” Sheppard headed towards the door EJ had gone through, “Major, give Woolsey a report on their findings. I’ll try to keep Baran from killing the medical staff.”

“Good luck, sir,” Lorne called after him.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my goodness, two chapters in one day. I think I need a cookie...or five...

Sheppard came into the infirmary just in time to catch the tail end of a harsh, venomous rant EJ directed at the nurse who was foolish enough to get in her way. Beckett walked up from a different part of the infirmary, waving the flustered nurse away as he stepped into EJ’s path.

“Rodney’s fine, love,” Beckett assured her calmly, “I gave him a very mild sedative to help him relax and Daniel’s already with him. If you’ll calm down and lower your voice, I’ll take you to them.”

“In case you were unaware, Dr. Beckett, I already know exactly where they are,” EJ raised an eyebrow at him, “and if I wanted to, I would simply move you out of my path.”

“And in case you were unaware, Dr. Baran,” Beckett replied easily, “as the Chief Medical Officer of this expedition, I determine what is best for anyone under my care. That includes you and Rodney. You storming in here terrifying my nurses isn’t going to solve anything. I have no problem whatsoever having you removed from my infirmary or sedating you myself if you don’t settle down.”

EJ took a deep, steadying breath, letting it out slowly before she muttered, “Doctors and their stupid needles. You’re a big meanie, Carson.”

“Aye, so they tell me,” Beckett nodded, then looked over her shoulder to Sheppard, “I suppose you’re coming as well, Colonel?”

“Colonel Sheppard was concerned I might injure your staff,” EJ looked back to Sheppard, “since I, _completely understandably_ , traumatized a couple of idiot engineers today. He’s here to keep an eye on me.”

“Of course he is,” Beckett grinned, “Come on, I’ll take you both to Rodney.”

Sheppard followed quietly as Beckett led EJ to the small curtained off area at the back of the infirmary. Rodney was laying still on the gurney, dressed in pale green scrubs, sleeping peacefully with an IV sticking out of his arm and wires connecting his forehead to a nearby monitor. Daniel was sitting in a comfortable chair someone had dragged over for him, his feet resting on Rodney’s bed as he read silently from a tablet. He stood when EJ came around the other side of the bed to take Rodney’s hand.

“He's fine. He’s just sleeping,” Daniel reassured her.

“You big dummy,” EJ shook her head and leaned over to press a soft kiss to a bare spot on Rodney’s forehead, “I’m the only one who’s allowed to hurt you. You better wake up soon so I can yell at you.”

“Did you talk to the City yet, _Verus Defensor_?” Daniel laid a hand on Rodney’s arm, “Dr. Kusanagi wasn’t sure what happened and I haven’t been able to get anything out of Atlantis.”

“No, _Historicus_ ,” EJ sighed heavily, “I came here to check on him first. This shouldn’t have happened. I should’ve stayed here with him to go over the AI. It was a mistake to separate the three of us. This is my fault, it's my job to protect all of you.”

“Not your fault,” Rodney mumbled, his hand squeezing hers weakly.

“Rodney,” EJ breathed, “You’re awake.”

“Tried to move the AI program from storage,” Rodney explained softly as his eyes fluttered open, “No damage, just missing pieces. Brain couldn’t handle all coding. The lock?”

“We figured it out,” EJ pressed another kiss to his forehead, “You finish resting. I’ll take care of the AI and you can tell me all the reasons the unlocking solution won’t work when you wake up.”

“’kay,” Rodney nodded, then closed his eyes and went back to sleep.

EJ squeezed his hand a final time, then released him to look over at Daniel.

“You found Janus’ files?” she questioned.

“Yeah,” Daniel handed her the tablet over the gurney, “Simple cipher text this time. I don’t think he was expecting anyone to ever find the lab or the machine. I’ll keep working on it.”

“Good,” EJ glanced through the tablet and handed it back, “Stay with him. Make sure he eats proper food when he wakes up again. He was in the City’s systems for a long time.”

“I’ll take care of him,” Daniel settled back into the chair.

“Have Daniel notify me if Rodney’s condition changes, Carson,” EJ started to leave, “Come on, Sheppard. I have to go have a _talk_ with your City.”

“I don’t think so, young lady,” Carson grabbed her elbow and steered her towards an empty gurney.

“I’m sorry for scaring your staff, Carson,” EJ apologized, “Rodney may be a giant ass sometimes, but he’s family.”

“I understand perfectly, EJ,” Carson released her and patted the gurney, “Up you go.”

“But I said I was sorry,” EJ pouted, “There’s no need to break out the needles.”

“Post-mission physical, dear,” Beckett smiled, “No getting around it.”

“I need to go fix the City,” EJ insisted.

“The City will still be here when I'm done,” Beckett pointed a finger to the bed.

“But Carson-” EJ whined.

“Even if I was inclined to skip the physical,” Beckett informed her, holding up a hand to stall her protests, “which in your case, I most certainly am not, I still have to change the bandage on your burns. And I’m almost positive you haven’t eaten since I sent the Major to the planet with food.”

“I’ll grab a snack on the way to the chair room,” EJ suggested hopefully, “Then I’ll come back here when I’m done and you can change the bandage then.”

“If you behave yourself while I perform your physical and change your bandage,” Beckett ordered, “I’ll have some food brought here and you can eat while I’m waiting for your results. Then, and only then, you can go play with the City, but you’ll be attached to an EEG monitor and I’ll be with you the entire time you’re connected. Deal?”

“Ugh, fine. Deal,” EJ threw her hands up in the air, “But I want pudding with my dinner. Chocolate pudding.”

“And if you try to sneak out before I’m done,” Beckett pointed a finger at Sheppard, “I’ll have the Colonel here drag you back here in handcuffs.”

“Yeah, _that’s_ gonna happen,” Sheppard snorted, “Last time I threatened to restrain her she kicked my ass.”

“Oh she did?” Beckett looked between the two of them, “How interesting.”  

“I did nothing of the sort,” EJ blushed a pale pink, “I merely illustrated to Colonel Sheppard the difference between good behavior and bad behavior.”

“I’m sure that’s what it was, EJ,” Beckett nodded solemnly, a smirk spreading across his face.

“I hate you, Carson,” EJ narrowed her eyes at him.

“No, you don’t, dear,” Carson laughed.

“I dislike you then,” EJ put her hands on her hips.

“Not even a little,” Carson shook his head.

“I better get that chocolate pudding,” EJ huffed, holding up two fingers, “Two of them.”

“Of course, love,” Carson patted the gurney again, “Up you go.”

EJ stuck her tongue out at him, then hopped up on the bed.

“If you’ll wait over there, Colonel,” Beckett pointed to an empty bed closer to the entrance, “One of my staff will start your post-mission physical in a moment.”

“You sure you’ll be okay with her by yourself, Doc?” Sheppard looked her over warily.

“I’m always well-behaved when there’s chocolate involved,” EJ assured him.

“If that’s the case,” Sheppard drawled as he turned to leave, “I’ll be sure to pack some candy bars when we head back to the planet.”

 

 _*Alternative*SGA*Alternative*SGA*Alternative*SGA*Alternative*_  

 

EJ was licking the last of her pudding from the back of a spoon when Beckett came back over to her bed, setting down the tablet he held on the foot of the bed.

“All your tests come back normal,” Beckett reached for a nearby tray holding clean gauze and antibiotic cream, “Let’s change your bandage, then we can head down to the chair room.”

“You don’t have to come with, Carson,” EJ held her right hand out for him to unwind the gauze, “I know it’s been a long day for you.”

“Since you yelled at Nurse Kerry earlier,” Carson gave a dry look, “it seems everyone else is a bit afraid of you. No one wants to be responsible for monitoring you, in case something goes wrong. And after Rodney’s seizure, I’m afraid I have to insist that you  _are_ monitored.”

EJ winced, “Will you apologize to her for me? I was worried about Rodney and I wasn’t thinking.”

“You can tell her yourself in the morning...” Carson pulled the last of the gauze off, his words trailing off as he frowned at her hand.

“Problem?” EJ asked carefully.

“You said you’d confirm my analysis,” Carson looked up, holding her stare, “if and when I figured it out.”

“Atlantis, mute all audio surveillance within a three meter radius,” EJ spoke quietly, “Ask your question, Dr. Beckett.”

“Your burn’s healed far more than it should be,” Carson let go of her hand and she dropped it gently into her lap, “Your brain scan shows fifteen percent more activity than the average human. There are segments of your DNA that show significant changes I would normally explain as hundreds of years of evolution. You call the ATA positive people descendants and according to Lorne and Monetti, you use Ancient terms for technology more often than not.”

“There was no question in there, Carson,” EJ pointed out calmly.

“Are you an Ancient?” Beckett whispered.

“I am. Mostly anyway,” EJ admitted quietly, “My father was the Alteran that originally created the AI program and my mother possessed the ATA gene as well.”

“How is that possible?” Beckett wondered curiously.

“ _Pater_ was among the first to ascend,” EJ explained evenly, “But after he saw the last of his line tortured by a Wraith Queen, he became discontent with the Ancients policy of non-interference. He managed to last another ten thousand years before he decided to retake human form. He met my mother at University and they married quickly. They were married for seven years. When my mother was eight and a half months pregnant with me, _Pater_ was killed by a drunk driver. Oma Desala helped him ascend a second time. The Others allow him to speak to me in my dreams occasionally, as long as he does nothing to interfere with my life.” [Latin: Father]

“My lord,” Carson swore softly, “So the additional brain activity…”

“When I was bonded to the City,” EJ continued, “it activated the portions of my Alteran DNA that were dormant. I’ve developed empathic and telekinetic abilities since then. And it wasn’t just me either. My Sheppard had a small portion of dormant DNA as well. He’s developed precognitive abilities, which according to his brother, his mother had as well.”

“What about the advanced healing?” Beckett questioned.

“I was part of a genetic experiment as a child,” EJ’s tone became hard, “I was injected with several serums that manipulated my DNA to allow me greater strength, speed, and healing. I have no way of knowing what changes were because of the experiments and what were because of my Alteran DNA.”

“Do the others on your Atlantis know?” Beckett asked cautiously.

“They do,” EJ hesitated, “But there were problems when the information became common knowledge. I’d appreciate your discretion in the matter, Dr. Beckett. If the IOA in your reality finds out what I am, they may try to keep me here. I’m not asking you to lie, just maybe not say anything until I get home.”

“You can count on me, love,” Beckett patted her leg gently, “Let me clean your burns and we can head down to the chair room.”

“Thank you, Carson,” EJ smiled brightly at him, “Atlantis, resume normal surveillance mode.”

 

 _*Alternative*SGA*Alternative*SGA*Alternative*SGA*Alternative*_  

 

When Sheppard and Woolsey got to the chair room, Miko, Carson, and EJ were already waiting for them. Miko was studying the large screen displaying an image of the City on one side and Ancient text on the other. Carson was connecting the final wires from the nearby monitor to the electrodes on EJ’s forehead as she sat comfortably in the control chair.

“Before I do anything,” EJ looked up at Woolsey, “I want to apologize for earlier, Richard. In my concern for Rodney, I came off a bit rude. I assumed someone here had done something to cause him harm and acted on that false assumption.”

“No harm done, EJ,” Woolsey replied calmly, “I assume Dr. McKay is still resting in the infirmary?”

“He woke up for a minute,” EJ nodded, “Long enough to tell me there was no actual damage to Atlantis, which is a good thing. I’m going to attempt to use the holographic interface to show you the missing sections of the AI, then you can decide if you want me to fix it or not.”

“Aren’t you at risk for seizures as well, Dr. Baran?” Woolsey questioned.

“The _Custodem_ was connected with Atlantis for several hours,” EJ tilted her head to the side, “and he attempted to do something that his brain and his bond were not designed to handle. I don’t plan on being connected very long. Carson will be monitoring my brainwaves, just as a precaution.”

“Very well, proceed,” Woolsey commanded easily.

EJ leaned back in the chair and it lit up brightly as it reclined. She closed her eyes and began moving her hands in precise movements over the gel pads of the chair.

After only a minute, she opened her eyes again, speaking in a low, melodic voice, “Atlantis, display only the marked sections of the AI programming using the holographic interface in this room.”

Lines of blue symbols, interspersed with flashing red lines, appeared above the chair.

“What are we looking at exactly?” Sheppard studied the symbols carefully.

“The sections in red are pieces of the AI that have been erased,” EJ explained, “which is actually good news. There’s no apparent damage to any of the circuitry and most of the advanced subroutines are still in place. None of the replicators downloaded any of her programming, so it would be a simple matter of uploading the missing sections if you want it repaired.”

“What are the long term ramifications of doing so?” Woolsey questioned.

“Atlantis was designed to function with an AI,” EJ spoke evenly, “so she could alert the people responsible for her care of minor issues before they become major problems. With the AI missing these sections, she’s able to function, but not at peak efficiency. When the AI is fully operational, she can make minor decisions on her own, such as adjusting the life support systems to filter out any known contagions on a planet, but she can’t do anything major on her own, such as shutting down life support completely.”

“It’s a bit like a person that has only one kidney,” Miko elaborated, “They can function fairly well, but they would do a lot better with two.”

“What about the mental component you spoke of?” Woolsey asked, shifting his gaze from the symbols above them to EJ.

“There’s already a mental component to the City,” EJ shrugged in the chair, “That’s how gene-bearers are able to use certain technology, like turning the lights and showers on without touching them. If you’re concerned about the City speaking to people, she can’t influence them in any way, and unless you decide to activate the _Cultore_ program, no one can influence her. The reason Colonel Sheppard heard her voice so clearly is because he has the strongest expression of the ATA gene in your reality, as well as being a direct descendant of the _Prima Imperator_.” [Latin: First Protector]

“And if we were to leave the City like it is now?” Woolsey inquired neutrally, “Will there be problems?”

“Eventually, an issue will crop up in the system,” EJ cut off the display above her, holding Woolsey's gaze, “that your techs won’t notice until it’s too late. It’s easier to repair her systems than it is to build new ones, trust me, we’ve had some experience in the matter. As _Verus Defensor,_ I know more about Atlantis’ systems than any other living person. In my expert opinion, there is no downside to fixing the AI and it will actually help your expedition in the long run. And I’m not just saying that to help us get home. She’ll let us go back to our reality either way, so it’s up to you.”

“Dr. Kusanagi,” Woolsey looked to her, “Your opinion?”

“I agree with Dr. Baran’s assessment, sir,” Miko nodded, “The City has shown a distinct difference in its operation between when we first arrived and after the damage occurred. I believe allowing Dr. Baran to restore the AI will increasing our overall efficiency.”

“Colonel Sheppard?” Woolsey turned to him.

“I’ve noticed the difference too, sir,” Sheppard admitted, “The AI was functioning fine for four years and the only problems we had were McKay changing the protocols.”

“Very well,” Woolsey nodded, “You may proceed, Dr. Baran.”


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick reminder: bold text indicates telepathic communication. Bold AND underlined text indicates telepathic communication from Atlantis.

“Shouldn’t take me very long to repair,” EJ replied happily, leaning her head back to close her eyes once more, “I’ll keep the holographic interface active so you can track my progress.”

EJ began to manipulate the gel pads under her fingertips again, feeling the City responding eagerly to her commands.

 **Atlantis, move the selected pieces of code from the temporary storage,** EJ commanded, **one at a time, showing me each piece as you move it, placing the sections in the corresponding spaces in your AI program. Display our progress using the holographic interface.**

** comPLYING, _verUS DEFensor_. **

EJ saw the sections of code float from the storage Rodney had created through her mind then back into the system, filling the holes in the AI’s programming.

**Progress?**

** Seventy-EIGHT poiNT FouR five perCeNt comPLEte, _verUS Defensor._ **

EJ registered voices coming from the room around her, but ignored them for the sake of inspecting each piece of coding as it was moved.

As the last missing section was put in place, she spoke quietly out loud, lifting her right hand from the gel pad to run it over the symbols on her left arm, “ _Manufesto_.” [Latin: Reveal]

She felt the symbols light up, knowing without looking that they glowed with the same bright violet color as her eyes.

 **Transfer all remaining information in temporary storage back to my _Pignus_ ,** EJ ordered easily, **Do not show me the coding as it is transferred.**

** Complying, _Verus Defensor._ **

EJ waited patiently for a couple minutes until the City spoke once more, **Transfer complete.**

 **Thank you, Atlantis,** EJ ran her right hand over the symbols, speaking quietly once more, “ _Exstinguere._ ” [Latin: Extinguish]

The symbols settled back into their normal pale blue-silver as EJ moved her right hand back to the gel pad.

**Eliminate the temporary storage created by the _Custodem._**

**Complete**.

**Begin patching the transferred sections to the existing portions of your AI. Display progress using holographic interface.**

**Complying, _Verus Defensor_**.

**Approximate time to complete patches?**

** Two minutes, twelve seconds until completion. Inquiry: I wish to speak with my operators when patching is completed. Will you act as _Vocem_? **

**Standby, Atlantis.**

EJ opened her eyes and found Sheppard staring at her arm curiously while everyone else was watching the floating images above the chair.

“Atlantis is patching the missing sections of her code to the existing program,” EJ spoke carefully, drawing everyone’s attention back to her, “One of the pieces that was erased seems to be her personality subroutine. It’s like her personality has been reset to when she was originally brought online. She’ll learn behavioral mannerisms by observing the City’s residents and talking to any descendants with enough compatibility to hear her. She doesn’t have much of a privacy filter, even after millions of years, so you’ll have to teach her what is acceptable behavior and what is not.”

“So keep her away from Rodney,” Sheppard stuck his hands in his pockets with a grin, “Until she learns her manners.”

“Basically,” EJ laughed, “Otherwise she’ll get snarky, like my Atlantis, and that just opens a whole can of worms you don’t want to have in your head. She wants to speak with you now. I can act as her Voice, if you wish.”

“She wants to talk to us?” Woolsey asked curiously.

“Most likely she wants to formally introduce herself,” EJ shrugged, “She has a unique opportunity right now, because part of my bond as _Defensor_ allows me to act as her _Vocem_ or Voice, allowing her to speak freely to anyone within the City.”

“I see no problem with that,” Woolsey nodded.

“Carson,” EJ turned to him, “Is it safe for me to receive a mild electrical shock, roughly equivalent to a taser?”

“It’s relatively safe, aye,” Beckett agreed cautiously, “Why?”

“I passed out for seven and a half hours last time,” EJ leaned back again, closing her eyes once more, “I’m told it’s a little unnerving to see, so be prepared. You’ll be able to ask her any questions you want, but I’d like to try to keep this under twenty minutes, if possible. The migraine afterwards is pretty intense.”

**Atlantis?**

** _Verus Defensor._ **

**Is the patching complete?**

** My artificial intelligence program is now functioning at one hundred percent. **

**Good, I will serve as _Vocem_ for you now. Answer all questions presented by your operators truthfully. **

**Understood, _Verus Defensor_**.

EJ felt the spark of electricity jump from the control chair to the crystal on her left arm and her body twitched as she gasped.

The chair straightened and Sheppard watched as EJ opened her eyes, violet irises replaced with glowing pale blue-silver. She stood gracefully, careful not to disturb any of the wires attached to her as she turned to face Sheppard fully.

“Greetings,” EJ/Atlantis spoke evenly, “I am the artificial intelligence of the City of Atlantis.”

“Uh, hi,” Sheppard answered nervously.

“Are the current primary operator of this City?” EJ/Atlantis questioned.

“I'm not sure what you mean by that,” Sheppard spoke cautiously. 

“My memory circuits are only eighty-three percent complete,” EJ/Atlantis continued, “Some information has been erased. Searching database. Confirmed: You are my primary operator. Name: John Patrick Sheppard. Designation: Lieutenant Colonel, United States Air Force. Direct descendant of the First Protector. Compatibility: eighty-six point four two percent. How do you wish me to refer to you?”

“You can call me John,” Sheppard responded cheerfully.

EJ/Atlantis turned to face Beckett fully, “You are my secondary operator. Name: Carson Joseph Beckett. Designation: Doctor; MD Genetics. Compatibility: sixty-three point one percent. How do you wish me to refer to you?”

“Carson,” Beckett replied with a smile, “What shall we call you?”

“I am Atlantis,” EJ/Atlantis cocked her head to the side, “Do you wish to change my designation?”

“I don’t think that will be necessary,” Woolsey spoke up. EJ/Atlantis ignored him, staring at Beckett while she waited patiently for him to answer.

“No,” John answered when it became clear EJ/Atlantis wasn’t responding to Woolsey, “We’ll call you Atlantis.”

“Understood, John,” EJ/Atlantis looked around the room, apparently searching for something she didn’t find, then turned to face Sheppard again, “My tertiary operator is not present at this time. Name: Meredith Rodney McKay. Designation: Doctor; PhD Physics, PhD Mechanical Engineering. Direct descendant of the First Custodian. Compatibility: fifty-nine point eight nine percent. Current location: Terra. Inquiry: When will he return?”

“Rodney should be back in ten days,” John answered.

“Understood, John,” EJ/Atlantis acknowledged, “Inquiry: My system indicates that the Caretaker subroutine has not been reactivated since I awoke from my slumber. Why do I sense a connection to the True Guardian _,_ the Custodian, and the Historian? Was the memory of the activation erased when my systems were damaged?”

“No, your memory is fine,” John replied calmly, “The three of them aren't from this reality. They're from a reality in which the Caretaker program has been activated. They helped us repair your programming.”

“Searching the True Guardian’s memory,” EJ/Atlantis replied evenly, then after a short pause continued in the same tone, “Confirmed. Name: Emmaline Jemma Sheppard neé Yates. Designation: _Verus Defensor;_ Colonel, United States Marine Corps, Homeworld Command; Doctor, PhD Linguistics, PhD Advanced Cryptology. Direct descendant of the First True Guardian. Compatibility: ninety-eight point seven five percent. Guardian link established Terran year 2012; True Guardian pledge accepted Terran year 2012. Point of origin: Alternate reality adjacent to current known reality.”

“Did you say Sheppard?” John questioned, “As in _me_ , Sheppard?”

“Maybe you should stick to less personal questions, Colonel,” Beckett said nervously.

“The True Guardian ordered me to answer all questions posed by my operators truthfully,” EJ/Atlantis cocked her head to the side again, “Do you wish to withdraw your inquiry, John?”

“No, damn it,” Sheppard swore, “Answer the question, Atlantis.”

“Affirmative,” EJ/Atlantis responded, “The True Guardian’s memory indicates she was married to the True Protector, Colonel John Sheppard, Doctor, PhD Applied Mathematics, Terran year 2013.”

“Personal information, my ass,” Sheppard stuffed his hands in his pockets.

“Do you have any other inquiries?” EJ/Atlantis asked evenly, “The physical strain on the True Guardian is approaching acceptable limits.”

“We have no further questions at this time, Atlantis,” Beckett answered swiftly, “It was a pleasure to meet you.”

EJ/Atlantis hesitated, apparently considering Beckett’s words.

“It was…a pleasure to speak with you as well, Carson,” EJ/Atlantis finally responded, “I will attempt mental contact with all descendants currently residing in the City. My personality and learning subroutines are now fully operational. I will observe the City’s residents to incorporate their mannerisms into my programming. My primary, secondary, and tertiary operators are the only descendants currently allowed access to those subroutines. Minor changes can be effected from my control chair. If you wish to speak to me verbally at a later time, the True Guardian’s biochemistry allows her to act as my Voice, but I require her consent.”

“Thanks, Atlantis,” Sheppard replied, “We’ll keep that in mind.”

“You are welcome, John,” EJ/Atlantis sat back in the control chair gracefully.

The glowing blue-silver faded from EJ’s eyes and her body slumped back against the chair. Her eyes widened as she looked up at Sheppard’s stony expression.

“Shit,” EJ swore, turning to face Woolsey as she ripped the electrodes from her forehead, “Woolsey, you _cannot_ use that information to find me. I had no idea she would tell you my birth name. Nosy bitch. If you try to contact any organization on Earth using that name, if I’m not already dead, I will be. So will you. Please, it is _vital_ that no one knows I’m here.”

“Could you elaborate, Doctor?” Woolsey asked neutrally.

“Not right now,” EJ started trembling, looking over to Carson, “I’m about to lose consciousness. Don’t restrain me in my sleep. Tell Danny and Rodney the AI is fixed.”

“We’re going to have a talk when you wake up, _Colonel_ ,” Sheppard crossed his arms over his chest. 

“No, we’re not,” EJ insisted, “Atlantis, do not reveal any further information about me without my explicit permission.”

**Understood, _Verus Defensor._**

EJ's eyes rolled back into her head and she slumped against the chair once more as she fainted.

“Beckett to the infirmary,” Beckett tapped his earpiece with one hand while he checked EJ’s pulse with the other, “Bring a gurney to the chair room.”

“That is not at all what I was expecting,” Miko spoke quietly, “I assumed that she would merely translate from the computer to verbal speech. She actually housed part of Atlantis’ consciousness in her brain for a short time. How fascinating.”

“I don’t think any of us were quite expecting that,” Woolsey glanced at the still silent Sheppard, “Dr. Baran seemed to know what was going to happen, however, and was prepared for it. Is she okay, Dr. Beckett?”

“Her pulse is steady,” Beckett nodded, “The rate’s a bit high, but considering what happened, that’s to be expected. From what I saw before she removed the wires, her EEG readings were back to normal. She seems to be just resting now. I’ll take her back to the infirmary and keep her under observation until she wakes up.”

“Very well,” Woolsey nodded, “Dr. Kusanagi, I would like a full report on the City’s systems on my desk as soon as possible. Use whatever personnel and resources you need to make sure everything is functioning normally.”

“Yes, sir,” Miko agreed easily, already turning back to her computer screen.

“Colonel Sheppard,” Woolsey turned to him, “Dr. Monetti informs me they may have found a way to circumvent the lock on P30-712. As soon as Dr. McKay is recovered, I’ll have him join Dr. Zelenka and Dr. Monetti in implementing their plan. I would like you to have as many men on stand-by as you deem necessary to clear the facility as soon as they open it. Drs. McKay and Jackson might be able to provide further details on the Wraith they discovered inside. I believe we should operate under the assumption that the Wraith are, in fact, there and alive.”

“I’ll take care of it, sir,” Sheppard uncrossed his arms, “Are you going to contact the SGC to verify her identity?”

“I think it would be best if I spoke with Dr. Baran first,” Woolsey pulled the bottom of his uniform jacket to straighten it, then turned to leave, “If that is all, ladies and gentleman, it’s been a long day. Contact me if there are any developments.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Attention all readers! Just an FYI, I won't be posting any chapters this weekend (04/19-04/20) since my house is getting invaded. Don't despair though! I'll be posting again (hopefully) on Monday!


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have managed to repel the invaders, at least until the next holiday, so you get a brand-new chapter a little early!  
> References to season 4, episode 4, 'Doppleganger' and season 5, episode 15, 'Remnants'.

EJ was called into Woolsey’s office as soon as the medical staff cleared her the next day. She tried to excuse herself by telling Woolsey that one of the nurses had taken her dirty uniform from the day before to be cleaned and that it wouldn’t be done for at least two hours. Woolsey didn’t buy her excuse however, and she was handed clean, borrowed underthings to put on under too large pale-green scrubs. After she changed, Beckett handed her off to her ever-present Marine guard with a small smile and a reassuring pat on the hand. The guard escorted her silently to Woolsey’s office and EJ stepped in to find Sheppard and Woolsey already waiting for her.

“EJ,” Woolsey greeted her politely, “Please, have a seat.”

“Am I to assume we are discussing my… _situation_ on Earth?” EJ questioned.

“We are,” Woolsey nodded, “I’m afraid I’m going to need some sort of explanation.”

“In that case,” EJ waved a hand over the crystal control, shutting the door behind her, “Atlantis, seal this room. Cut off all surveillance and block all radio signals, except for the emergency channel.”

** Understood, _Verus Defensor_. **

**Does this room have a privacy mode?**

** Affirmative, _Verus Defensor_. Privacy mode is activated by touching the glass panels. **

EJ walked over to tap on each of the large glass windows separating Woolsey’s office from the control room, making the glass cloud over so they couldn’t be seen. She took a seat in the chair closest to the now-clouded glass door, carefully ignoring Sheppard in the chair next to her.

“I was unaware the windows could do that,” Woolsey stated curiously.

“Privacy mode,” EJ explained, “A specific electric current runs through the glass to cloud them, making it harder for anyone in the control or gate room to see things they aren’t supposed to. It’s like the ‘new’ smart glass on Earth. It’s not just this room either, any of the glass on Atlantis can be set to privacy mode. It’s activated only by a descendant's touch in combination with the mental command to the City, however.”

** That is not accurate, _Verus Defensor_. As _Prima Trinitas_ , you can designate specific areas that can be activated by any resident's touch. **

**I am aware, Atlantis. I don’t want them to know what I can do yet.**

“Of course,” Woolsey nodded easily, “Just another of the many wonders of Atlantis, I suppose.”

** Inquiry: You do not wish the others to know the extent of your link with my systems. Why? **

“Excuse me a moment, Richard,” EJ slipped out of the chair, crouching down to lay her left palm to the floor.

**Did you search the full extent of memories, Atlantis?**

** Negative, _Verus Defensor_. Do you wish me to do so at this time? It will take me one minute twenty-two seconds to do so. **

**Go ahead.**

**Searching**.

EJ closed her eyes and waited patiently as she felt Atlantis sorting through her memories.

** Complete. Inquiry: Are your negative past experiences the reason you are displeased with me for revealing your identity to my operators? **

**For the most part, yes. It hasn’t typically gone well for me when others find out who and what I am.**

** You are afraid the people in this reality will treat you as a threat, incarcerating you or forcing you to submit to unwanted medical experiments, making you unable to fulfill your duties protecting those to which my counterpart bound you. **

**Again, that’s mostly right, yes.**

**I understand now, _Verus Defensor_. I apologize for my inadvertent breach of your privacy when you acted as my _Vocem_. I was not aware of the potential ramifications to you or the others. I would never do anything to directly or indirectly cause harm to any _Cultores_.**  

**I know you wouldn’t. But since you are aware of the consequences now, I need you to stay quiet while I’m talking to Woolsey and Sheppard. I’ll have to tell them half-truths or lies, probably both. As long as I am in this reality, you can’t contradict anything I say to them, understand?**

** Understood, _Verus Defensor_. Inquiry: Do you wish me to refer to you as my counterpart does, by your given name? **

**That’s fine.**

** Understood, Emmaline. **

“Is there a problem, Dr. Baran?” Woolsey asked warily when EJ opened her eyes and took her seat in the chair again.

“No problem,” EJ assured him, “Atlantis was apologizing.”

“Atlantis apologized to you?” Sheppard spoke for the first time since she entered the room, “For what?”

“She knew I was unhappy with her,” EJ explained calmly, “But she didn’t understand why. I explained the situation to her and she apologized.”

“I see,” Woolsey leaned forward to cross his hands over his desk, “And what exactly is the situation, Colonel Baran?”

“Or do you prefer Dr. Sheppard?” Sheppard questioned easily.

“Is it necessary for him to be here?” EJ asked without looking at Sheppard, “He’s only going to make things more difficult.”

“I’m afraid it is necessary,” Woolsey glanced over to Sheppard, “Colonel Sheppard is responsible for the safety and security of everyone on this base, guests or otherwise. I’m going to have to insist that you answer both his questions and mine.”

“If you insist,” EJ agreed calmly, “What you call me depends on how you want me to answer. If you are asking me questions of a scientific or personal nature, Dr. Sheppard is the appropriate title. If you asking me questions that have to do with my military or security duties, then Colonel Baran is appropriate. General Carter decided it would be too confusing to have two Colonel Sheppards on Atlantis, so I continued to use Baran after I was married.”

“Why Colonel Baran,” Woolsey asked, “and not Colonel Yates, if that is your maiden name?”

“The answer to that is a bit complicated,” EJ admitted, “I used the name Dr. EJ Baran when I first came to Atlantis in an attempt to conceal my identity.”

“Why would you need to conceal your identity?” Woolsey raised an eyebrow.

“Because the day before I arrived on Atlantis,” EJ answered evenly, “I was attacked by half a dozen Iranian intelligence agents.”

“Why would Iranian intelligence be after you?” Sheppard inquired.

“I had something they wanted,” EJ shrugged, “and I wasn’t inclined to give it to them. I originally came to Atlantis to hide, hence the false name. By the time it was safe for me to reveal my true identity, people had gotten used to calling me Baran, so it was simpler to continue using that as my professional name.”

“Is that the reason you were adamant that I not contact Earth using your birth name?” Woolsey asked evenly.

“Yes and no,” EJ replied carefully, “It is a symptom of a larger problem.”

“What ‘larger problem’?” Sheppard questioned.

“It’s complicated,” EJ hesitated, “I have no way of knowing if the situation is the same in your reality or not. If it is, anyone looking for me will be in danger. I’d rather not take the chance by giving you any more information.”

“Simplify it,” Sheppard ordered easily, “Then we can decide whether the danger is worth it or not.”

“It’s not,” EJ maintained. 

“Colonel Baran, the people here on Atlantis are in danger of dying every day,” Woolsey informed her, “and we have ways of keeping information secret on Earth.”

“Nothing stays secret forever,” EJ shook her head, “no matter how hard you try.”

“I’d rather make the threat assessment myself,” Woolsey’s gaze hardened.

“There are fates worse than death, Richard,” EJ spoke quietly, absently running the fingers of her left hand over the scars on her right arm, “Simply verifying my identity is not worth the trouble it will cause.”

“Again, Colonel,” Woolsey repeated, “I’d like to be the judge of that myself.”

“I won’t even be here that much longer,” EJ insisted, “Even if you were to find an organization willing to confirm my identity, I’ll be gone by then. Why go through all the trouble?”

“There is the possibility that you will be stuck here,” Woolsey pointed out.

“No, there isn’t,” EJ smiled wryly, “Rodney’s wife is expecting their first child in a couple weeks. He’ll find a way to get us home before then.”

“I’m not sure what that has to do with him getting you all home,” Woolsey said cautiously. 

“Rodney does is best work under fear of death,” EJ explained, “And I assure you, his wife will find a way to kill him if he’s not there when his son is born.”

“You’re deflecting,” Sheppard stated evenly, “and you’re very good at it.”

“And you’re smarter than you let on,” EJ countered, “Your point?”

“How did you break your arm?” Sheppard motioned to where her EJ’s fingers were still resting against her scars.

“What does that have to do with anything?” EJ asked warily, moving her hands into her lap.

“‘Fates worse than death’,” Sheppard quoted, “Woolsey may not understand exactly what that means, but I do. How did you break it?”

“I didn’t,” EJ replied carefully.

“Someone broke it for you then,” Sheppard leaned back comfortably in his chair, “Before or after your identity was revealed?”

“After,” EJ admitted warily.

“But it’s not the injury itself that bothers you, is it?” Sheppard continued, “Beckett says you have decades' worth of internal scar tissue. None of the other injuries upset you, so what is it about that particular one that does?”

“Have you ever told anyone what you saw when you were possessed by the crystal entity?” EJ wondered, “Your biggest fear?”

“You’re deflecting again,” Sheppard replied.

“I’ll take that as a ‘no’,” EJ leaned back, crossing one leg comfortably over the other, “Your McKay probably thinks he knows what it is because he caught the tail end of your fight. But he didn’t see what happened at the very beginning, did he? He doesn’t know why that fight occurred or why you were on Atlantis. You could’ve been anywhere in the universe, yet you were here, why?”

“I am assuming you already know the answer to that question,” Sheppard narrowed his eyes at her, “so why ask me?”

“And when Atlantis found the Sekkari device,” EJ continued, “Did you ever tell anyone what you hallucinated? Not just the basics, but every tiny, painful, perfectly realistic detail. Does anyone here know what your mind put you through, what you endured, what you were willing to do?”

“No,” Sheppard answered shortly, “What relevance does this have to my question?”

“I’m trying to illustrate a point, Colonel Sheppard,” EJ spoke harshly, “You may think you understand what it’s like to endure your worst nightmares, but you don’t.”

“I know what it’s like to-” Sheppard started.

“You don’t _know_ ,” EJ interrupted severely, clenching her fists in her lap, “You don’t know what it’s like to be betrayed. You don’t know what it’s like to spend your entire life believing you’re doing the right thing, only to find out you’ve been used spectacularly. You don’t know what’s it’s like to have no control over your life, to be shaped and molded into something dark.”

** Emmaline, your blood pressure is rising rapidly and your pulse has doubled. Shall I notify Carson? **

“Shut up, Atlantis,” EJ directed the comment towards the ceiling, then looked back to Sheppard, “You don’t know what it’s like to be on the receiving end of every one of your worst possible nightmares, with no hope of rescue; begging, _hoping_ for death, for release from hell on Earth.”

“Colonel Baran, I think you should-” Woolsey interjected carefully.

“Shut up, Richard, I am not finished,” EJ gave him a hard glare to silence him, standing up to face Sheppard when Woolsey’s mouth snapped shut, “Do not presume that you know me, Colonel Sheppard, because you are under the misguided assumption we’ve had similar experiences.”

“You’ve made a mistake, _Dr._ _Sheppard_ ,” Sheppard smirked as he stood, coming closer to EJ, “You've showed your hand.”

“What mistake do you think I’ve made?” EJ questioned.

“You’re not really angry,” Sheppard shook his head, “I find it interesting that out of all the incidents in my past that I’m sure you know about, you bring up those two in particular to illustrate your so-called point.”

“I most certainly am angry,” EJ glared up at him.

“You’re terrified,” Sheppard declared, reaching down to touch his fingers against the scar on her arm, “Not of us finding out who you are, but of what happens when we do.”

“Back off,” EJ warned, “You don’t want to do this, Sheppard. You won’t win.”

“It’s not about winning,” Sheppard wrapped his fingers around her arm, “It’s about getting the truth.”

“Last chance, Colonel,” EJ’s voice took on a smooth, dangerous tone.

“Are you afraid of us,” Sheppard asked quietly, “or of yourself?”

EJ threw her hand up, hitting Sheppard in the base of his throat and making him gag for air as she violently pulled her arm from his grip. She followed up by punching him in the stomach with enough force to make him hunch over in pain. She grabbed a handful of his hair, moving to swiftly behind him to kick the back of his leg, forcing him to the ground as she produced a slim knife from somewhere in her clothing. She pulled his head to the side, grip still tight in his hair, as she pressed the edge of the blade steadily against his pulse.

“I am not the prey, John,” EJ spoke quietly, “I am the hunter. I have very good reason to be afraid, as do you.”

“It wasn’t you they tried to hurt, was it, Emmaline?” Sheppard held himself completely still as he spoke.

“What?” EJ’s voice faltered and the pressure against Sheppard’s neck lessened.

“Who were you trying to protect?” Sheppard asked softly, “Who are you still trying to protect?”

EJ looked over to see Woolsey sitting completely calmly in his chair. She released her grip on Sheppard’s hair and swore viciously under her breath.

“Well played,” EJ slid the knife back into its hiding place, “You managed to get your threat assessment anyway, didn’t you?”


	11. Chapter 11

“Colonel Sheppard rightly assumed that you wouldn’t willing give us the information we needed,” Woolsey explained calmly, “He convinced me that some subterfuge might be necessary.”

“There were a lot of little details that didn’t make sense,” Sheppard got to his feet slowly, “The way McKay and Jackson take their cues from you, even though they’re both more than capable of taking care of themselves. The way you insisted on having your weapons back while you were still inside the City. The way you respond to questions, either deflecting our attention entirely or giving us just enough information to satisfy our curiosity. The way you apologized not for your actions, but for the way they were perceived. Not to mention the way you carry yourself, the way you move.”

“The way I move?” EJ asked carefully.

“According to Meyers and Pierson,” Sheppard spoke dryly, “you had Babikov on the ground and tied up before they could do anything. I could’ve passed that off as them not paying attention, but then you kicked my ass twenty minutes later.”

“How does that lead to you baiting me into a reaction?” EJ questioned.

“You weren’t upset that McKay got hurt yesterday,” Sheppard continued, “You were upset because you weren’t here to protect your family. I thought you were just protecting yourself until Atlantis let slip our… _personal_ connection. There was fear in your eyes when you looked at me. Everything sort of slid into place then. I realized you weren’t trying to protect yourself, you were trying to protect us from you.”

“The Colonel assured me,” Woolsey leaned back in his chair, “that given the chance, he could get you to reveal your true nature, if not your identity.”

“You had the nurse take all my clothes,” EJ laughed as she faced Sheppard, “and you didn’t even flinch when I sealed the three of us in this room. Trying to minimize the risks, without raising my suspicions. You’re right, Colonel, I did make a mistake, but not the one you think.”

“What mistake did you make?” Sheppard asked curiously.

“I didn’t hit you _nearly_ hard enough,” EJ turned to Woolsey as Sheppard snorted, “What now?”

“Now that we understand each other,” Woolsey gestured toward the chair behind her, “you sit down and tell me, in non-specific terms, why I’m not going to contact Earth about you.”

“You’re not?” EJ raised an eyebrow.

“Provided I get a satisfactory explanation,” Woolsey agreed.

“Future reference,” EJ sat back down in the chair, “The only way to make sure I don’t have a weapon on me is to physically search me. And if you’re going to provide me with clothing, make sure it fits. Baggy clothing makes it easy to hide things.”

“I _thought_ we got all the knives off you while you were unconscious,” Sheppard sat down, “How did you get one back?”

“Did you tell Carson what you were planning to do?” EJ asked easily.

“No, why?” Sheppard responded warily.

“If you had,” EJ pointed out calmly, “he would’ve had someone supervise me while I was getting dressed.”

“Would that have made a difference?” Sheppard drawled.

“It would’ve made things more interesting for me,” EJ grinned dangerously, “I do enjoy a good challenge.”

 

_*Alternative*SGA*Alternative*SGA*Alternative*SGA*Alternative*_

 

Daniel looked up from the tablet he was reading as EJ walked into the lab, dressed in her clean black BDUs, guns in place on her thighs, and her hair pulled into a high ponytail.

“How did it-” Daniel started, then frowned at the loud argument in the front of the room between Rodney, Zelenka, and Monetti.

 **How did it go?** Daniel asked silently, **You’re not locked up and they let us keep our guns, so I’m assuming it wasn’t too bad.**

 **Well, it was interesting,** EJ slid into the stool next to Daniel, **It didn’t exactly go well, but it didn’t go badly either.**

**What do you mean?**

**I’d forgotten,** EJ smiled, **exactly how good at chess Sheppard is. I’m so used to us knowing everything about each other, I’m out of practice keeping secrets from him. He baited me into an emotional reaction.**

 **You’re smiling,** Daniel observed, **It couldn’t have gone that badly.**

 **They think I used to do wet work for the CIA,** EJ shrugged, **and that my handler betrayed me so I joined the Stargate program to hide. It’s close enough to the truth, I suppose. Woolsey didn’t ask for any specific details, so I told them as little as possible and they drew their own conclusions. I reassured them that I have reformed my violent ways, unless I’m protecting my family, and told them I would be on my best behavior while I was here.**

 **That’s all they know about?** Daniel questioned, **Nothing…genetic related?**

 **Yup,** EJ nodded, **I’m a scary former assassin whose loyalties are hard earned. Nothing more. Carson figured out I’m Alteran yesterday, like I thought he would, but he’s agreed not to say anything.**

**So…you’re smiling because you tricked Woolsey and Sheppard into believing that’s all you are?**

**I’m smiling, Danny, because John Sheppard is the only man in two realities that can beat me at chess and he’s smart enough to know the game isn’t over. Woolsey’s convinced, he’s not.**

Daniel blinked at her a couple times, **This is some sort of weird flirting ritual with an alternate reality version of your husband?**   

 **John and I have a ‘non-serious flirting is acceptable’ policy,** EJ laughed, **He’s going to be just as amused by this as I am when we get home. The ‘I’m the only John Sheppard allowed to touch you’ sex is going to be _fantastic_.**

 **I _really_ didn’t need to know that, EJ,** Daniel shook his head, **You’re so weird.**

 **What about you?** EJ changed the subject easily, **How’s the translation coming?**

 **Good,** Daniel gestured towards the tablet, **Should be done by the time you guys figure out the code. I think Rodney’s right about the problem. From what I’ve gathered from Janus’ notes so far, the machine functions exactly as it’s supposed to when it has enough power.**

 **That’s good news,** EJ nodded, **Let me know if you find-**

“EJ,” Rodney shouted over Zelenka, “Good, you’re here finally. What the hell kind of ridiculous idea is this?”

“It’s a wonderful idea, Rodney,” EJ stood up and walked around the table to join them in front of the large flat screen, “You’re just mad you didn’t come up with it first.”

Zelenka muttered something under his breath in Czech and Rodney glared at him.

“I can understand you, Radek,” Rodney scowled.

“Then can we skip the part where you tell us you are smartest man in the room,” Radek pushed his glasses back up on his face, “and start rewriting code?”

“I vote for that option,” Monetti nodded.

“You’re opinion doesn’t count,” Rodney pointed a finger in her face, “Let the grown-ups talk.”

“Careful, Rodney,” EJ warned, “Mandy’s a biter. You might want to move your finger.”

“It’s true,” Monetti grinned as Rodney quickly pulled his hand back.

“Where do they find these people?” Rodney wondered.

“The computer science doctoral program at Università Ca’Foscari,” Monetti replied easily, “in Venice, Italy.”

“Oh, really?” EJ smiled, “I am totally recruiting you when we get back to our reality.”

“You can’t just recruit whoever you want into top-secret programs,” Rodney huffed, “There are very specific requirements.”

“She figured out a way around the locking mechanism in six hours,” EJ put her hands on her hips, “And she hasn’t run crying from the room or tried to beat you over the head with a blunt object after dealing with you all morning. She also has the ATA gene. I’m pretty sure she meets all the requirements.”

“To be fair,” Monetti interjected, “I did throw a marker at him an hour ago.”

“I do that all the time,” EJ patted her arm, “As long as you don’t hit him in the eye, it’s okay.”

“Got him in the ear,” Monetti stated proudly.

“Oooooo,” EJ smiled, “Nice shot. Did the vein on his forehead do that popping thing?”

“Can we just work on the code, please?” Rodney insisted.

“Of course, Rodney,” Radek rolled his eyes, “Whatever you say.”

 

_*Alternative*SGA*Alternative*SGA*Alternative*SGA*Alternative*_

 

Sheppard made his way to Zelenka’s lab late that afternoon, hoping to check on the scientists’ progress and the two Marines standing outside the closed door straightened when he approached.

“Any problems?” Sheppard asked easily.

“No, sir,” the taller Marine answered.

“Good,” Sheppard started towards the door again.

“Uh, I wouldn’t recommend going in there, sir,” the second Marine spoke hesitantly.

“Why not?” Sheppard questioned.

“It’s like a war zone in there, sir,” the Marine whispered.

“I thought you said there were no problems, Sergeant,” Sheppard turned back to the first Marine.

“It’s not a problem if you know when to duck, Colonel,” the Sergeant shrugged, “Corporal Wayne took some shrapnel in the arm when he brought in lunch earlier.”

Sheppard looked between the two Marines, trying to decide if they were messing with him or not.

“I think I’ll take my chances,” Sheppard decided.

“Keep your head down, sir,” the Sergeant waved his hand over the door controls and stepped to the side as the door slid open.

Sheppard walked into the loud room and the door slid shut behind him. Daniel was sitting quietly at the table, coffee cup in one hand and his tablet in the other. The table had several trays of food, mostly eaten, and a couple half-full coffee cups. Rodney, Zelenka, EJ, and Monetti were arguing loudly in a couple different languages, gathered around three computers and a large flat screen at the front of the room. Sheppard watched as EJ lobbed an empty water bottle at Monetti, who ducked to avoid being hit. A wild hand gesture made McKay lose his grip on the marker he was holding and it whizzed past Daniel’s ear as he looked up to see Sheppard.

“Hello, Sheppard,” Daniel greeted him cheerfully.

“Hey, Jackson,” Sheppard moved to take the seat next to him, “How can you work with all this going on?”

“I’m married to Vala,” Daniel smiled as he sipped his coffee, “and we have an eighteen month old daughter. This is peaceful for me.”

“Is it safe to interrupt them for a progress report?” Sheppard asked cautiously, “I’d like to let my men know how long they’ll be on stand-by.”

“Relatively,” Daniel moved his coffee cup just in time to avoid the wadded up food wrapper that would’ve landed in it, “I wouldn’t get within coloring range though.”

“Coloring range?” Sheppard questioned warily.

Daniel gestured to Zelenka’s cheek and Sheppard noticed the bright red frowny face someone had drawn on him.

“Who did that?” Sheppard chuckled.

“Monetti did the actual coloring,” Daniel grinned, “But EJ held his arms and Rod told her to do it in the first place. It was a group effort really.”

“Any other advice?” Sheppard stood.

“Don’t poke the women,” Daniel looked back down at his tablet, “They both bite.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Sheppard drawled, walking around the table and giving a shrill whistle, startling the four of them into silence, “How’s it going, Doctors?”

All four of them started speaking at once and Sheppard held up a hand, silencing them again. He pointed a finger at Rodney, “You first.”

“We’ll be finished rewriting the code in an hour,” Rodney smirked, “We just trying to determine the best way to upload the changes.”

“I still say we should change the code within the locking mechanism itself,” Zelenka scowled.

“That will take days, Radek,” EJ insisted, “It’s perfectly safe to upload the changes from the hard drive.”

“You can’t be one hundred percent certain of that,” Monetti disagreed, “If one of the lines is incorrect, or the system notices the changes, it will activate the fail-safes and blow us all up.”

“Which is why your program will have to be flawless,” Rodney argued, “EJ and I have spent years studying this stupid lock. We both agree; it’s within acceptable safety limits to upload the program from a separate hard drive.”

“Bottom line?” Sheppard interrupted.

“We can be ready to leave in…” EJ glanced over to Rodney, “Two hours?”

“Three hours,” Rodney corrected, “I want to do a final check of Mandy’s coding program before we leave.”

“Three hours, Colonel Sheppard,” EJ informed him, “There are potentially six Wraith inside the facility, one of them a Queen, and we’ll need to capture her alive if she’s there. Our realities are similar enough that I’m operating under the assumption she did something to the fail-safe inside the facility. She needs to be alive so we can find out for sure.”

“How are you going to get a Wraith Queen to answer your questions?” Sheppard crossed his arms across his chest.

“I’m not,” EJ shrugged, “I’m going to distract her while Teyla searches her mind.”

“EJ…” Daniel looked up from his tablet, “Are you sure you should be…?”

“I can handle it, Danny,” EJ assured him.

 **It’s not _you_ I’m worried about,** Daniel said gently.

 ** _We_ can handle it,** EJ smiled softly, **We’re Sheppards, after all. I’ll be extra careful, I promise.**

“Is there a problem?” Sheppard looked between Daniel and EJ.

“Three hours, Colonel,” EJ repeated, “And I want to talk to Teyla before we leave.”


	12. Chapter 12

Sheppard helped Ronon, Daniel, and Lorne’s team clean the vines and moss off the large door while Rodney and EJ bickered over the tablet they were using to upload the updated code. There were several teams of Marines setting up defenses in the immediate area, in case any Wraith managed to make it out of the facility alive.

Half an hour after they arrived on the planet, EJ announced they were ready to open the door. She handed the tablet to Teyla, then walked to the furthest right indentation, directing Rodney to the center space, and Daniel to the one on the left. The three of them placed their hands in the spaces and the entire stone door lit up with veins of pale blue-silver. They stepped back and the door slid up into the rock face. After another short argument in Ancient between EJ and Rodney, each of the portable life-signs detectors the Marines carried were handed over to Rodney to download blueprints, then to EJ to mark the locations where the Wraith were found in their reality.

The last LSD was handed back to Sheppard and he turned to address the men waiting to clear the facility.

“Teams one through six will proceed directly to the locations Colonel Baran has provided,” Sheppard ordered, “Remember, we need at least one Wraith alive for questioning, so use your stunners. The rest of you will clear the facility normally. I want check-ins every fifteen minutes. McKay, Jackson, and Baran will work on bringing the internal sensors back online, but if the Wraith are hibernating, they won’t show up on the readouts. Major Lorne’s team will stay with them until the sensors online, then they will join the search.”

EJ stepped over to Sheppard and leaned up to whisper in his ear.

“Go ahead,” Sheppard rolled his eyes.  

“One more thing gentleman,” EJ stepped forward and glared at them, “If any of you fuck-nuts activate anything inside without it first being cleared by an engineer, you will become intimately acquainted with the business end of my sidearm. There is shit inside that will atomize all of us if used incorrectly. Don’t touch. Is that clear?”

“Yes, ma’am,” the platoon of Marines shouted.

Sheppard waved the Marines into the building, then Lorne’s team made their way inside, followed by Sheppard’s team and the three Doctors.

“You’ve got quite the mouth on you,” Sheppard walked next to EJ, “They teach you that in the Marine Corps?”

“Russian mobster, actually,” EJ smiled wryly, “and a Nigerian warlord. And before that, one very cranky Krav Maga instructor. I think she was angry because I broke her nose during our second session.”

“Krav Maga, huh?” Sheppard asked curiously, “When was this?”

“That would’ve been 1994,” EJ answered easily.

“And how old are you, exactly?” Sheppard wondered.

“Don’t you know it’s impolite to ask a woman her age, Sheppard?” EJ smirked.

“But you already know me so well, _Sheppard_ ,” Sheppard drawled, “I’m just trying to play catch up.”

“Maybe we should start with something smaller,” EJ laughed, “Work our way up to the personal stuff.”

“All right then,” Sheppard agreed easily, “Favorite color?”

“Lavender.”

“Favorite song?”

“[Coming Home, Part Two](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k84QxVJd0tI), by Skylar Grey.”

“Favorite food?”

“Coffee flavored ice cream with hot fudge sauce.”

“Favorite book?”

“The first three books in the [Kushiel’s Legacy series](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kushiel's_Legacy) by Jacqueline Carey.”

“Favorite weapon?”

“The knives Ronon gave Teyla, Jen, and me when he accepted us into his family as _kaina_.”

“How old were you when you started Krav Maga?”

“Old enough to break my instructor's nose. Nice try, Colonel, but I’m not that easy,” EJ smiled as they came into a small control room, “We’re here.”

“EJ,” Rodney gestured to the consoles in the room, getting out his tablet, “Wake them up, please.”

EJ walked over, brushing her left hand against each of the consoles and they sprung to life at her touch. Rodney used a long silver cable to plug his tablet into the largest console at the center of the room. He and EJ huddled over it, speaking in quiet Ancient as they scrolled through.

“Interesting,” EJ commented before the two of them turned to Sheppard again, “Good news and bad news, Colonel. Which do you want first?”

“Give me the good news,” Sheppard ordered easily.

“The good news is our realities are remarkably similar,” Rodney said dryly, “There’s a record in the entry log for half a dozen Wraith life-signs. Since EJ and I actually know what we’re doing this time, it should only take half an hour, at most, to reactivate the internal sensors.”

“And the bad news?” Sheppard questioned.

“The bad news is,” EJ pouted, “you don’t get to kill the Wraith Queen on sight. The system is slow. We have to find out if the same thing happened here.”

“We were planning on that anyway,” Sheppard pointed out.

“Yes, but,” EJ sighed, “I was _hoping_ it wouldn’t be necessary.”

“You can still change your mind, EJ,” Daniel offered, “Someone else can distract her.”

“You know I’m the only person on this planet that can effectively keep her occupied,” EJ replied calmly, “I’m the one thing she won’t expect. I’ve handled worse.”

“But if you…” Daniel trailed off.

“I told Teyla before we left Atlantis,” EJ flicked her glance to Teyla, waiting patiently behind Sheppard, “All of it. We both know the stakes.”

“We do, Dr. Jackson,” Teyla inclined her head to EJ, “If either of us were to attempt to extract the information on our own, the risk would indeed be great. I am confident that if we work together, we can easily complete the task.”

“Why do I feel like I’m missing something important?” Sheppard looked between the two women.

“You’re going to want to go with Plan Alpha, Colonel,” EJ moved over a smaller console next to Rodney, “We’ll let you know when the sensors are back up. Contact me when the preparations are complete and you have the Queen.”

“Do I take orders from you in your reality?” Sheppard drawled as his team moved towards the closest door.

“Rarely,” EJ grinned over her shoulder at him, “And only if I’m naked while I’m giving them.”

Sheppard stumbled on his way out the door, momentarily distracted by the interesting image his mind provided him, and he heard Lorne’s laughter trailing after him as he recovered and followed Ronon down the darkened hallway.

 

_*Alternative*SGA*Alternative*SGA*Alternative*SGA*Alternative*_

 

Ninety minutes after they entered the facility, EJ was waiting anxiously outside a small door, pacing back and forth. The five Wraith husks had been found by the teams almost exactly where EJ had said they would be. The bodies had been removed, already being disposed of by the teams left outside the mountain. Sheppard’s team had located the Wraith Queen’s hibernation pod easily. They stunned her, repeatedly, then Lorne’s team helped to restrain her and move her to a small, empty room in the facility. Daniel and Rodney had placed several small cameras in the room in order to monitor EJ when she eventually went inside. Sheppard and Ronon were in there now, making sure the Queen was completely secure, while everyone else waited outside. Rodney caught EJ’s arm on one of her passes, looking up from his laptop screen as she stilled. 

 **Relax,** he ordered quietly, **You’re making me nervous.**

 **Rodney, I’m about to let a Wraith Queen probe my mind to distract her while Teyla sifts through her memories,** EJ sighed and put her hand over his, **making it blatantly obvious that I'm not entirely human in the process a** **nd I’m...I’m…**

 **About ten weeks pregnant according to Jen,** Rodney finished for her, **with twins, if what I overheard from Carson is accurate.**

EJ’s eyes widened and she sat next to him on the floor, **You know?**

 **I’m not nearly as oblivious as you think I am,** Rodney rolled his eyes, slinging his arm around her shoulders as she rested her head against him, **You’ve been making weird faces every time you smell coffee in the last six weeks. You’ve stopped drinking anything caffeinated. You’re eating twice as much as you normally do. You don’t protest anymore when someone makes you go to sleep at night. And you’re boobs have gotten markedly bigger. No one else seemed to notice, so I suggested Jen run a pregnancy test during your last physical, just to make sure.**

 **How did you notice even before I did?**  EJ pouted, **I missed it for ten weeks.**

 **It didn't occur to you,** Rodney squeezed her shoulder, **I only noticed because of the boob thing.**  

 **Should I be doing this?** EJ asked quietly, **We don’t owe these people anything. I’m sure there’s a way to get home without these _potentias_. **

**I can’t decide that for you,** Rodney started typing one-handed on the laptop, **If you want me to find another way, I will. But you and I both know, it doesn’t matter which Atlantis it is, you’ll do anything and everything in your power to make sure it’s safe. If you're having second thoughts, we still have time to come up with another plan.**

**This is our best option and it's relatively safe. It's just...I haven’t even told John yet. I was going to tell him tonight, as an anniversary present. We planned to have dinner on the East pier to celebrate.**

**You can tell him when we get back. Danny finished translating Janus’ files today, so it should only be a couple days until we can go home.**

**You’re sound awfully confident,** EJ lifted her head to study his face.

 **I’m a genius,** Rodney grinned, **Of course I'm confident.**  

“Thanks, Rodney,” EJ laughed and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

“For being a genius?” Rodney asked curiously.

“For not being oblivious,” EJ corrected. Then she leaned back and slugged him in the arm.

“OW!” Rodney exclaimed, “What was that for?”

“For looking at my boobs,” EJ stuck her tongue out at him as she stood.

Sheppard and Ronon emerged from the small door behind her.

“She’s as secure as we can make her,” Sheppard informed them, “without drugging her out of her mind.”

“Guess we’re up then,” EJ looked over to Teyla, “You ready?”

“I believe, of the two of us,” Teyla smiled softly, “I will have the easier task. Perhaps I should be asking you that question.”

“Mind probing from a Wraith Queen?” EJ scoffed as she unclipped her P90, “That’s a typical Tuesday night for me.”

“Yeah, _I’m_ the kinky one,” Lorne rolled his eyes as he took EJ’s gun and vest.

“You _are_ the kinky one, Evan,” EJ unclipped her thigh holsters, handing them weapons and all to Daniel, “I have one spouse, you have two. No one’s ever walked in on me tied up and naked, having sex with my significant others on top of the C4 in the armory.”

“Just because no one’s walked in on you,” Lorne waved a hand at her, “doesn’t mean you haven’t had sex in the armory too.”

“Who hasn’t had sex in the armory? It's a rite of passage on Atlantis,” Daniel laughed, “And don't think no one notices when your lab is locked for hours at a time, EJ.”

“Can we please concentrate on the task at hand?” Rodney huffed, “I don’t need to hear any more about your deviant behavior.”

“You’re no fun, Rodney,” EJ pouted at him, then turned to Sheppard, “Ready when you are, Colonel.”

Sheppard looked at the small group of them, various expressions of disbelief coming onto his face, before his gaze finally settled curiously on Lorne.

“ _Two_ spouses, Lorne?” he asked carefully.

“That’s what EJ says, sir,” Lorne nodded seriously, “Apparently, I’m very good at sharing.”

“How do any of you get any work done?” Sheppard turned to EJ, “Does _anyone_ in the City follow the frat regs?”

“We have an extremely relaxed version of the frat regs,” EJ explained with a grin, “That was somewhere on page two of the demands the IOA agreed to when Jack finally let us loose on them.”

“Jack, as in…” Sheppard started.

“General O’Neill, yes,” EJ nodded.

“And us, as in…” Sheppard continued, pointing a finger between EJ and himself.

“Me and your counterpart, yes,” EJ agreed.

“We had demands?” Sheppard asked curiously, “And the IOA agreed to them?”

“We had three pages worth,” EJ explained, “The IOA agreed to two pages, including a sizeable budget increase and relaxed regulations at the SGC and on Atlantis.”

“And how did we manage that?” Sheppard wondered.

“Two weeks before we went to them with the demands,” EJ smirked, “you made quite an impression on them. I’m told there were several weapons involved. And once Jack gave me permission, I stopped being nice.”

“So, basically,” Sheppard spoke carefully, “we terrified them into submission.”

“If you want to look at it like that,” EJ shrugged, “I prefer to think of it as utilizing our interpersonal skills to their full potential.”

“I was right about you,” Sheppard shook his head again, “You’re a nutball.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” EJ smiled up at him.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning for this chapter: There is a bit of graphic violence, but it's against a Wraith, so I'm not sure if it counts or not.

“No matter what you see or hear inside,” EJ looked between Sheppard and Ronon, “Do nothing to interfere.”

 ** _Historicus_** **, _Custodem_ ,** EJ ordered, **As soon as Teyla has what we need, let me know.**

 **We will, _Verus Defensor_ , **Rodney answered for both of them.

**If I…lose my control during this, I’ll need you to keep people clear until I calm down. I don’t want to accidently hurt someone.**

**I’ll take care of it, EJ,** Daniel brushed a hand down her arm.

“You sure you don’t want to take your gun?” Sheppard questioned, “She may be restrained now, but…”

“It won’t be necessary,” EJ motioned to the control panel, “Let’s get this over with.”

Sheppard waved a hand over the crystals, then followed Ronon inside. EJ took a deep breath, then followed the two of them inside, reaching back to remove one of the crystals from the inside panel to lock them all inside. She handed the crystal to Sheppard and he stuck it in one of his vest pockets as Ronon stepped forward to punch the Queen hard in the face, waking her up.

EJ stayed back in the shadows by the door, observing the Queen as she regained consciousness quickly, hissing and spitting in her displeasure. She looked exactly the same as EJ remembered. Long, straight, black hair that fell to her lower back. Pale green skin, a dark, intricate curling tattoo stretching from above her left eyebrow to down past the top of her simple deep gray dress. The dress left the Queen’s neck and shoulders exposed, draping down her body until the hem just brushed against the floor. There were thick chains anchoring her wrists and ankles to the stone floor, with just enough slack for her to stand.

“All right,” Sheppard drawled, “Enough with the hissing. You’re pissed, we get it.”

“How dare you speak to me in such a manner, human,” the Queen hissed angrily, “You should learn your place.”

“Oh, yeah?” Sheppard asked lazily, “Where exactly is my place?”

“You are food,” the Queen’s words reverberated with power as she looked between Ronon and Sheppard, “You are insignificant beings. You are bred to serve as nourishment for my kind, nothing more. Release me and I shall grant you both a quick death.”

“I don’t think so,” Sheppard’s words were strained as he fought for control.

“Release me, human,” the Queen ordered again and EJ felt the push of power she directed toward Sheppard.

“That’s enough,” EJ stepped forward, “Leave them alone.”

“More arrogance,” the Queen snarled, turning her attention fully to EJ, “Your defiance will taste so sweet when I feed upon you.”

“Take a deep breath, Jane, relax,” EJ motioned the men back, “You don’t mind if I call you Jane, do you? They’re not the ones you want, Jane.”

“You presume to name-” Jane started, then stopped abruptly, inhaling deeply as EJ stepped forward again, stopping just outside of the Queen’s range.

“There it is,” EJ smiled dangerously, “The understanding.”

“ _Lantean_ ,” Jane spit the word as a curse.

“Not just any Lantean, Jane,” EJ held up her left hand, the symbol in her palm glowing, “I am the _Defensor_ of Atlantis. These humans are under my protection. You can’t have them.”

 **Tell Teyla to do it now,** EJ ordered Rodney, dropping her hand, **Her attention’s on me.**

“And how will you stop me, _Defensor_?” Jane gave a sickening laugh, “Your mind is just as weak as any other.”

“I think you’ll find that’s not entirely true,” EJ argued, “A lot has changed while you slept. The Lanteans are not what they once were.”

“The Lanteans were all but extinct,” Jane snarled, “Some of your kind might have survived by hiding, but when I am free, that will be remedied soon enough.”

“Now who’s arrogant?” EJ raised an eyebrow, “Making plans for galactic domination seems a bit premature when you can’t even make it out of this room.”

“Tell me, Lantean,” Jane smiled, showing all her disgusting jagged teeth, “Is it true that a _Cultores_ bond can only be broken in death?”

“You already know that’s true,” EJ answered easily.

“Then perhaps I will not kill you,” Jane pulled her chains tight, getting as close to EJ as she could without touching, “Perhaps I will let you serve me.”

“I think I’ll pass on that, _your majesty_ ,” EJ replied.

“Perhaps I will let you kneel before me as your Queen, your master,” Jane’s words were once again filled with power and EJ felt the thick, black oil coat her mind, “Let you do my bidding.”

“I will not,” EJ’s voice wavered.

“ _Ohhhhhhh_ ,” Jane purred in pleasure, “There is such darkness in your mind. Such violence. You have caused so much death, so much destruction.”

“Stop,” EJ insisted as the memories of her past flashed in her mind.

“There is so much blood on your hands,” Jane’s voice began to caress EJ's mind, coaxing the gruesome memories to the surface, “It can never wash off. You have caused so much pain, so much suffering, and you are still so young. Think of what we could accomplish together.”

“No,” EJ shook her head weakly, looking down at the floor, trying to hold back the rage she could feel bubbling under the surface, “Don’t do this.”

“I will do as I please, Lantean,” Jane continued, words soothing and seductive, “You enjoy it. That feeling of power when you take the life of another. So much pride. You should have been born Wraith, young one. You would have been a powerful leader. Release me and I shall let you gain that power by serving me. I will give you eternal youth, vitality, strength. I will let you unleash the deepest, darkest parts of yourself that you keep hidden. I will let you carve a violent path of destruction through our enemies. I will let you bathe in their blood. Kneel before me and I will give you all that and _more_.”

EJ laughed, the sound echoing bitterly in the small room. She lifted her head up to meet the Queen’s gaze, eyes dark and burning with stored up rage and hatred.  She held up her right hand, fingers splayed wide, and the Queen flew back, pinned against the wall.

“I kneel before only one person, Jane,” EJ’s voice grew hard, “and you are not him.”

“What is this?” Jane struggled, unable to move more than an inch in each direction, “What have you done?”

 **Get everyone away,** EJ commanded Daniel, **Now.**

“It’s not what I’ve done,” EJ insisted, hand still steady in front of her, “It’s what you’ve done. You... _stupid_. _Arrogant_. _FOOL_.”

“How dare you-” Jane roared.

“Quiet,” EJ snapped the fingers of her left hand and Jane’s arm twisted unnaturally, the dense bones cracking as Jane screamed, “You thought you could weaken my mind by making me relive all the violence I have committed. That was your first mistake. You could have simply looked in my mind, taken whatever knowledge you wanted, and nothing would have happened. But instead, you tried to push all that violence to the surface. It didn't have the effect you wanted, did it? Quite the opposite, in fact. All you have done is snapped the threads of my control.”

Jane gasped as the bones began to knit themselves back together, “No Lantean would ever-”

“Wrong,” EJ interrupted, snapping her fingers three times, breaking all of the Queen’s ribs on her right side, “ _I_ would and I _am_. You wanted to see the hidden parts of me, Jane.  Here they are. Not what you expected?”

“How can you do this?” Jane’s breathing was labored as her ribs began to repair themselves.

“The ones you knew as Lanteans were interested only in ascending to a higher plane of existence,” EJ clenched her left hand into a fist and dark blood gurgled out of Jane's mouth, “They believed that violence would lead them away from that _enlightened_ path.”

EJ pulled the curved Satedan knife from behind her back, releasing it to float in the air, “I disagree with them on that particular point. There is a quote from a man on the planet where I was born that I think describes my opinion on the matter perfectly. It goes something like this: It is better to be violent, if there is violence in our hearts, than to put on the cloak of nonviolence to cover impotence.”

EJ waved her left hand gracefully through the air and the knife flew forward, slicing numerous long, deep cuts into the flesh across Jane’s chest and shoulders, the Queen hissing and screeching in pain. 

“As you so helpfully pointed out, Jane, there is violence in my heart,” EJ crooked her finger and the knife came back, hovering at EJ’s side, dripping blood, “Your second mistake was to assume I would not act on that violence if you pushed me too far.”

“What do you want from me, _Defensor_?” Jane asked meekly, her wounds slowly healing.

“I want nothing from you, _your majesty_ ,” EJ snapped her fingers twice, breaking Jane’s legs. She brought her right hand back to her side, releasing her hold on the Queen’s body so she fell to the floor painfully, “I only want to see you suffer for what you have done.”

“I have done only what I must to survive,” Jane gasped, “The same as any Lantean.”

“Torturing the _Defensor_ ,” EJ snapped a rib, “the _Iudex_ ,” another snap, “the _Imperator_ ,” snap, “That was necessary for your survival?” [Latin: Guardian] [Latin: Judge] [Latin: Protector]

“You cannot know that,” Jane insisted, her words filled with pain.

“I do know that,” EJ held her right hand up again, shoving Jane once more into the wall, “Your search of my memories neglected to show you: I am not from this reality. I have already killed you once, Jane, and I did it quickly. This time, I will not be so merciful.”

 **Teyla has everything we need,** Rodney spoke rapidly into her mind, **It’s done. You can stop.**

EJ made a twisting motion with her left hand and Jane’s neck twisted completely around, killing her instantly. EJ grabbed the knife still floating next to her, flicking it to splatter the remaining blood on the floor before sliding it back into place behind her back. She turned to Sheppard, avoiding his shocked stare as her body trembled.  She twitched a hand, pulling the control crystal from his vest pocket and carefully put it back in place without touching it.  

“Burn the bitch’s body,” EJ ordered Ronon as the door slid open.

EJ stepped out into the hall, clear except for Rodney, Daniel, and Teyla. Daniel stepped in front of Teyla, silently holding out EJ’s thigh holsters and weapons. EJ twitched her hand again, clipping them into place, never once touching them.

 **The _Historicus_ has cleared a path to the entrance, ** Rodney informed her, **We’ll be waiting in the ZedPM room when you come back, _Verus Defensor_.**

EJ moved away without responding, her body still trembling as she walked quickly down the tunnel until she was out of sight.

Daniel swore quietly in German, pulling his glasses off to swipe a hand down his face.

“There’s nothing we can do, Danny,” Rodney spoke softly, “You know she doesn’t want to be around either of us right now.”

“We should have found another way,” Daniel shoved his glasses back on his face, “We shouldn’t have made her do that.”

“No one _makes_ EJ do anything,” Rodney insisted, “You know that. She knew what the risks were and she did it anyway.”

“Yeah, at what cost, Rodney?” Daniel asked quietly.

Sheppard came out of the room before Rodney could answer, his expression dark and unreadable as he looked over Daniel and Rodney.

“Something you folks forget to mention about Colonel Baran?” Sheppard questioned evenly, “Something about her being _Lantean_ , which I’m pretty sure is Wraith-speak for _Ancient_?”

“Would that knowledge have changed your opinion of her?” Teyla stepped forward, “Would you have done anything differently?”

“I would’ve been better prepared when she flipped out and started snapping Wraith bones,” Sheppard responded harshly, “with the power of her _mind_.”

“It was not her original intention to do so, Colonel,” Teyla replied calmly, “She merely intended to reveal to the Wraith that she was an Ancient, as you call them. She believed, as did I, that she would be able to endure the Queen’s exploration of her mind long enough for me to acquire the memories we needed.”

“What the hell happened in there then?” Sheppard glared at Rodney and Daniel.

“She lost her emotional control,” Rodney answered quietly.

“I was there for that part,” Sheppard drawled, “Explain.”

“What do you know about telekinesis, Colonel?” Daniel questioned.

“It’s the power to move things with your mind,” Sheppard replied swiftly.

“Correct,” Daniel nodded, “But how does it work?”

“I have no idea,” Sheppard rumbled, “But I get the feeling you’re going to explain it to me.”

“We’ve discovered that two things are required for telekinesis,” Daniel explained patiently, “The first is an accurate visualization of what you want to do. Dr. Sheppard and Dr. Keller have been studying the Wraith carefully in the past year, looking for weaknesses and trying to perfect the Wraith cure. Dr. Sheppard has access to literally every piece of knowledge in the Ancient database, including their studies on Wraith anatomy. That was all she needed for the visualization; an image in her mind of what the Queen looked like on the inside and how she wanted that image to change.”

“The second requirement?” Sheppard asked cautiously.

“Intent,” Rodney answered carefully, “The stronger the emotional intent behind the action, the stronger the power becomes. Dr. Sheppard has had to learn to keep a tight lid on her more volatile emotions; anger, pain, hatred. That Queen was the one that captured and tortured the last _Prima Trinitas_ before the Ancients left Atlantis for Earth. EJ takes that personally. It’s, quite literally, in her blood to want to defend all the Caretakers. The _Defensor_ is the shield for Atlantis and her _Cultores_ , the best and last defense. I’m honestly surprised that she managed to stop when she did. She hates the Wraith almost as much as Ronon, that one in particular for what she did.”

“From what it sounded like,” Daniel continued, “The Queen made EJ relive the memories of what she’d done in the past. That made her react in an emotional manner that we hadn’t anticipated. EJ has an eidetic memory, so she remembers every moment of her life since she was five years old. The memories are incredibly vivid for her. If you could remember the name and face of every person you killed, Colonel Sheppard, how would you feel? If you were forced to remember every instance of pain you willingly endured on behalf of a traitor, how would you react?”

“The same probably,” Sheppard answered after a moment, “How does she deal with it?”

Rodney and Daniel exchanged quick glances, but didn’t respond.

“You do not know,” Teyla spoke quietly.

“No,” Daniel admitted, “She doesn’t lose control like this very often.”

“When she does lose control,” Rodney hesitated, “EJ only lets a few people near her, isolating herself from the rest of us.”

“Dave,” Daniel stated, “Who’s more like a real brother than a brother-in-law.”  

“Jack,” Rodney declared, “Who treats her like his daughter.”

“But most of the time, it’s just…” Daniel trailed off.

“You,” Rodney finished.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The quote EJ uses in this chapter is from Mahatma Gandhi.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Update is a little later than usual today. I got a late start this morning because it was sunny and we had to go outside to blow bubbles.
> 
> The song I had in my head when writing the first part of this chapter (the part where EJ's dancing) was 'All of Me' sung by John Legend. Here's a link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=450p7goxZqg

Sheppard helped Ronon and a couple Marines carry the Queen’s body out of the facility, where it was added to the five dried out husks already in a large pile a couple minutes’ walk from the door. Ronon took great pleasure in gathering enough firewood to make a pyre and lighting the bodies on fire, standing watch over the bonfire as the smoke drifted up into the sky.

When Sheppard couldn’t stand the smell of burning Wraith any longer, he asked the Captain he had left in charge outside to point him in the direction of Colonel Baran. The man hesitated to tell him, saying that Colonel Baran had explicitly ordered him not have anyone follow her or to tell anyone where she went. Sheppard casually reminded the Captain that although Colonel Baran had a higher rank, he was still the Military Commander of Atlantis and as such, his orders superseded hers. The Captain pointed east and mentioned, also casually, he may have sent a patrol in her general direction and that they may have spotted her in a small clearing three klicks away. Sheppard radioed Teyla to let her know where he was going and asked her to come after them if they weren’t back by dark.

Half an hour later, Sheppard found the small clearing that the Captain had mentioned. It was only a small, uneven circle in the tall trees, a little less than twelve meters across. The ground was covered in the same soft, dark green moss that grew abundantly on the planet. At the edge of the clearing was EJ’s discarded gear; her uniform shirt, folded neatly with the chain for her dog tags, minus the ring, draped over it, her boots, socks tucked neatly in the top of each of them, both her thigh holsters, weapons still inside, and all three of her knives, laid neatly in a row. That wasn’t what made Sheppard stop, however.

It was the fact that every rock, broken twig, and other small object in the entire circle was floating and weaving through the air. EJ was at the center of the swirling mass, in her black tee shirt and uniform pants, feet bare on the soft moss, her long blonde hair loose around her shoulders. Her eyes were closed as her body swayed and bent and twirled, dancing to a slow, sensuous song that only she could hear.

As Sheppard stood silently watching, he realized that all the floating objects in the clearing moved in time with her body. Each graceful sweep of her arm made the pieces move left and right within the circle. Each delicate lift of her foot from the ground made them raise and lower in the air. Each deep breath she took made them move further away from her and come back. The resulting effect was a stunning display of beauty, a sharp contrast to the violent actions from earlier.

Sheppard was about to turn and leave, unwilling to interrupt what was obviously a private moment, when his P90 lifted away from his vest, followed by the vest itself floating away from his body, joining the neat pile of EJ’s gear. He looked over to EJ to see holding out a hand, dark silver ring glinting in the light, beckoning him closer, a clear path appearing between them.

“Dance with me,” she commanded softly.

Sheppard took a step forward, then hesitated.

“I’m not him,” Sheppard spoke evenly.

“I’m not asking you to be,” EJ smiled softly, not lowering her hand, “Nothing untoward, Colonel, I promise. I’m quite committed to my husband, I assure you. I only want to dance with you.”

“I don’t dance,” Sheppard moved forward slowly, “Not like that anyway.”

“You’re telling me your father didn’t make you and Dave go to cotillion?” EJ raised an eyebrow.

“That was a long time ago,” Sheppard drawled as he put his hand in hers, “And I hated every minute of it.”

“Want me to lead?” EJ slid her hand up to rest on his shoulder as the floating objects moved back into place around the circle.

“I think I can handle it,” Sheppard took her other hand in his, moving them both into a slow waltz.

They danced silently for a couple minutes, objects floating around them, before Sheppard spoke again.

“So is this what you normally do when you lose control?” he asked curiously.

“It depends,” EJ answered easily, letting Sheppard spin her, “On who’s with me. This here is just me burning off the excess energy by myself. Using the difficulty of moving this many things at once to clear and calm my mind. If Dave’s around when I lose control, he’s the one who dances with me. Your brother is a remarkably graceful dancer. Jack snuggles with me and makes up ludicrous stories about princesses and dragons and other nonsense until I relax from the sheer ridiculousness of what he says.”

“And the other me?” Sheppard wondered, “What does he do?”

“He takes control so I don’t have to,” EJ smiled mysteriously.

“I would think that after something like…” Sheppard paused, “I would think you would be more interested in regaining control, rather than losing it further.”

“Therein lies the beauty of my relationship with John,” EJ let Sheppard dip her, “I trust him with everything I am, so having him there to take control when I can’t is a blessing.”

Sheppard pulled EJ a little closer, their steps still in sync, “So he knows all your secrets, huh?”

“He does,” EJ agreed calmly.

“Including the fact that you’re apparently an Ancient,” Sheppard drawled.

“Alteran,” EJ corrected, “And only mostly.”

“How can you be _mostly_ Alteran?” Sheppard questioned.

“Do you remember when Danny explained about the AI?” EJ asked carefully.

“Mostly, yeah,” Sheppard nodded, “It was a pretty long explanation.”

“Daniel enjoys history lessons,” EJ laughed, “The man he spoke of, the one who created the AI program, he was my father. He was one of the first Alterans to ascend. He made it several million years before he got discontent and bored enough to retake human form. He retained very little of the knowledge from his previous life, but he still had a strong desire for knowledge. He met my mother, who apparently also had a strong form of the ATA gene, while they were in University. They were married for seven years before he was killed by a drunk driver. He ascended for the second time. My mother was eight and a half months pregnant at the time.”

“How did you find out he who he was if you’ve never met him?” Sheppard asked curiously.

“I have met him,” EJ grinned.

“But you said…” Sheppard started.

“When Atlantis accepted my _Pignus_ ,” EJ flicked her eyes to the crystal on her left arm, “She gave me a massive electrical shock to activate the bands. I was unconscious for five days. The Others let him appear to me in my dreams, only allowing him to speak with me, nothing more.” [Latin: Pledge]

“You sure it wasn’t just a regular dream?” Sheppard inquired warily.

“It wasn’t the first time I had seen him,” EJ explained, “Just the first time he introduced himself. My John has met him too, the first time we shared a dream. _Pater_ gave him the shovel talk about two minutes after speaking with him.” [Latin: Father]

“And how did that go over?” Sheppard grinned.

“He threatened to scatter John’s atoms across the galaxy,” EJ returned the grin, “John was very polite and respectful afterwards.”

“After being threatened with atomization, who wouldn’t be?” Sheppard chuckled, finally stilling their dance. He looked around the clearing to see everything had fallen silently back to the ground, “You okay now?”

“Better,” EJ nodded, stepping back from Sheppard, “I shouldn’t have let her get to me the way she did.”

“Jackson and McKay explained the situation a little,” Sheppard shoved his hands in his pockets, “They seemed pretty worried about you.”

“You know what finally got to me?” EJ twisted the ring on her hand.

“You don’t have to tell me,” Sheppard offered.

“I don’t have to,” EJ shrugged, “But it’ll answer more than one of your questions if I do.”

“Which questions?” Sheppard asked carefully.

“The memory that made me snap,” EJ spoke quietly, keeping her eyes on her ring, “was the one you asked about. When my arm was broken. Two years ago, one of my former handlers, a traitor, threatened to kill all the _Cultores_ unless I turned myself over to him. We tried to draw him out, but it didn’t work. I gave myself up, knocked you unconscious to get away. I told your brother to tell you not to look for me, to break my bond with the City, killing me. Except, you didn’t listen. Never were very good at following orders. On the third day…I think it was the third day, but I was out of my mind with the drugs, so I’m not sure, he asked me about you. That was the only thing I refused to talk about. I answered all his other questions, even if he didn’t like my responses, but I wouldn’t talk about you. He got so furious with me, he crushed both bones in my arm, one at a time, with a vice grip. When you came to get me, on the fifth day I’m told, he tried to convince me that you were only using me, like every other person in my life had. I had his gun and I'd already shot out both his knees.  I was going to splatter his brains on the wall and you would have let me, would have understood and accepted my decision completely. All you did was put a hand on my bruised, bloody, dirty shoulder.”

“Did you kill him?” Sheppard asked evenly.

“I didn’t,” EJ looked up finally, “I did much worse. I broke him. I shoved every negative feeling I had buried deep in my subconscious for two decades into his mind all at one. I have no idea how I did it or even what exactly I did. To this day, he still hasn’t spoken. That is the only thing, out of every atrocity I have committed, that I regret. No one deserves to be broken that way.”

Sheppard reached up to brush the single tear off her cheek and EJ stepped back.

“I didn’t tell you so you would feel sorry for me,” EJ shook her head, “I told you so you would understand why I reacted the way I did with Jane. She tried to do to me what I had done to him. She tried to break my mind, put something else there instead, and I couldn’t let her do that. She would use me to take Atlantis, to destroy all of you, and I _refuse_ to let that happen.”

“This isn’t even your reality,” Sheppard pointed out gently.

“It doesn’t matter,” EJ insisted firmly, “I will defend any Atlantis and any who live within her to my dying breath and beyond.”

“Because you are the _Defensor_?” Sheppard questioned.

“Because Atlantis gave me a home,” EJ corrected easily, “Gave me a family when I had nothing. Gave me the man that would fill the missing piece in my heart, my soul. I owe Atlantis more than I can ever repay. It doesn’t matter if it’s in this reality or mine. I will be her shield, protecting her from any harm, even if the danger is me.”

“Why is it so important to you that I understand?” Sheppard searched her face.

“If you understand the reasons behind my reactions,” EJ straightened, “You’ll understand that even though I may be dangerous, I am not a threat.”

“The line between the two is slim,” Sheppard responded calmly.

“And I’m careful not to cross it,” EJ held his stare steadily, waiting for him to respond. 

“How old are you?” Sheppard asked after a long pause. 

“What?” a confused expression came over EJ’s face at the sudden change in subject.

“You said ‘two decades worth of memories’,” Sheppard drawled, “But you don’t look that old.”

“What does that have to do with anything?” EJ wondered.

“Just trying to figure out,” Sheppard grinned, “If I married a younger woman, in which case, I’m awesome, or an older woman in phenomenal shape, in which case, I’m awesome.”

“You…” EJ’s jaw dropped, then warm laughter burst out of her.

“It’s a perfectly legitimate thing to wonder,” Sheppard insisted as she bent over laughing.

“Of course it is, Colonel,” EJ gasped between giggles.

“So are you going to tell me or not?” Sheppard asked once EJ finally quit laughing.

“If I tell you,” EJ walked to the edge of the clearing, sitting down to pull her socks and boots on, “You have to promise not to tell anyone, ever.”

“Why is your age such a big secret?” Sheppard picked up his vest.

“It’s not my age that’s the secret,” EJ laced her boots up tight, “It’s what telling you my age implies about other aspects of my life that I would rather keep hidden.”

“What if I didn’t ask about those other things?” Sheppard clipped his P90 into place.

“You’re too curious not to,” EJ slipped her tags back into her tee shirt before she slid her uniform shirt on.

“Probably true,” Sheppard grinned, “But you enjoy playing mental games and so do I. This is just another level to the game. You’ve already decided to tell me, you’re just trying to draw it out.”

“Pinky promise you won’t tell anyone,” EJ held out her right pinky.

“Fine,” Sheppard took her pinky in his own as he rolled his eyes.

“I turn thirty-two in eighteen days,” EJ stood, sliding her knives into place.

“Younger woman then,” Sheppard waggled his eyebrows, “Go me.”

“Yes, Colonel,” EJ rolled her eyes as she clipped her thigh holsters into place, “Congratulations. You landed yourself a young, rich, blonde wife who likes guns as much as you and is extremely flexible. You have accomplished every middle-aged white man’s dream.”

“It’s ‘cause I’m awesome,” Sheppard insisted cockily, “You can admit it.”

“Want to know something even better?” EJ looked up at him with a grin.

“What could be better than me being awesome?” Sheppard returned her smile.

“I was the one who proposed to you,” EJ smirked as she started back towards the mountain.

“See? I'm so awesome you just had to have me,” Sheppard started after her, then stopped abruptly, “Wait…Did you say flexible?”

“No,” EJ looked over her shoulder with a wicked grin, “I said _extremely_ flexible.”


	15. Chapter 15

When they made it back to the mountain a little over half an hour later, EJ was fully composed once more, uniform completely back in place and her long hair back up in the high ponytail. She accepted her tac vest and P90 from Lorne, putting them in place before she got an odd glint in her eye and headed towards the Captain in charge.

“Captain Miller,” EJ looked up at the taller man, “Do you think I’m stupid?”

“Ma’am?” Miller asked carefully.

“Is it because I’m a woman?” EJ asked evenly.

“I’m sorry, ma’am, I don’t-” Miller started.

“I’m just trying to figure out, Captain,” EJ spoke evenly, “why exactly you disobeyed a direct order from a superior officer.”

“Colonel, I-” Miller began, looking over to Sheppard with a puzzled look on his face.

“Don’t look at him,” EJ ordered, “I’m the one addressing you, Captain Miller.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Miller snapped his attention back to her.

“Did you or did you not send a patrol after me,” EJ narrowed her eyes at him, “when I specifically ordered you not to have anyone follow me?”

“I sent several patrols out, ma’am,” Miller insisted, “scouting the general vicinity. One of them may have ended up near you out of pure coincidence.”

“So you think I’m stupid then,” EJ asked coolly, “Is that it, Captain?”

“Of course not, ma’am,” Miller shook his head vehemently.

“You expect me to believe that a patrol just _happened_ to leave three minutes after I did,” EJ continued, “and just _happened_ to be going in the exact same direction as me and just _happened_ to stay within 50 meters of my position for the entire time I was gone?”

“Ma’am, I-” Miller paled slightly, straightening to attention.

“Shut it, Captain,” EJ ordered, “Even I was stupid enough to believe that ridiculous excuse, there is still the matter of you telling Lt. Colonel Sheppard where to find me.”

“Ma’am, he ordered-” Miller tried.

“Did I not also _specifically_ order you,” EJ cut him off with a glare, “not to tell anyone, Lt. Colonel Sheppard included, where I went?”

“You did, ma’am, but-” Miller agreed.

“I suppose you expect me to believe,” EJ raised an eyebrow, “that Lt. Colonel Sheppard suddenly became part bloodhound and sniffed me out three klicks away from here. Is that what happened, Captain Miller?”

“ _What_?” Miller asked, confusion on his face again, “No, ma’am. He ordered-”

“I don’t give a fuzzy rat’s ass what Lt. Colonel Sheppard ordered, Captain,” EJ interrupted, “ _I_ gave you two very explicit orders for very specific reasons. You disobeyed both of them.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Miller straightened to attention.

“I gave you those orders for a reason, Captain Miller,” EJ spoke evenly, “A reason that I shouldn’t have to explain to get you to follow those orders.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Miller agreed.

“If you were my Marine,” EJ looked him up and down, “I’d have you assigned to permanent botanist-sitting duty.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Miller paled again.

“Or assign you to inventory _all_ of the supplies,” EJ grinned dangerously, “by yourself.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Miller swallowed.

“And the microbiology lab could always use a good scrub-down,” EJ continued.

“Yes, ma’am,” Miller nodded.

“Baran,” Sheppard stepped up next to them with an eye roll, “Stop terrorizing my Marine. You know very well I ordered him to keep an eye on you and that my orders supersede yours.”

“I do know that, Sheppard,” EJ kept her attention on Miller, “which is why Captain Miller is not actually in any trouble.”

“I’m not, ma’am?” Miller asked hopefully.

“Nope,” EJ shook her head, “ _You’re_ not.”

“Thank you, ma’am,” Miller sighed.

“Colonel Sheppard _is_ , however, in trouble,” EJ turned to Sheppard with a scary sweet smile, “and while I may not be able to assign him extra duties, I have _other_ ways of getting even.”

“Now, wait a minute, Colonel,” Sheppard started.

“Yes, ma’am,” Miller agreed enthusiastically.

“Just because we have an understanding, Sheppard,” EJ stepped forward, “doesn’t mean there won’t be retribution.”

“It was a perfectly reasonable-” Sheppard began.

“Nope,” EJ shook her head.

“But I didn’t-” Sheppard pouted.

“Retribution, Sheppard,” EJ insisted.

“Damn it,” Sheppard grimaced, “When are you leaving again?”

“As soon as we get the _potentia_ hooked up to that stupid machine,” EJ laughed as she started towards the mountain’s entrance, “Come on.”

“I’m so screwed,” Sheppard muttered under his breath, “Freaking _nutball_.”

“I wouldn’t let her hear you say that, sir,” Miller grinned.

“Baran already knows I think she’s a nutball, Miller,” Sheppard shook his head, “She thinks it’s a compliment.”

“Is it, sir?” Miller asked curiously.

“I haven’t figured that part out yet, Captain,” Sheppard answered with a shrug.

 

_*Alternative*SGA*Alternative*SGA*Alternative*SGA*Alternative*_

 

When EJ came into the ZPM room with Sheppard behind her, Daniel and Rodney looked between the two of them carefully, scowling at Sheppard while giving EJ worried looks. Teyla and Ronon were waiting patiently at the side of the room.

“Stand down, boys,” EJ waved a hand at them, “Sheppard’s not going to say anything to Woolsey as long as I don’t become a threat to Atlantis.”

“He’s not?” Daniel looked over to Sheppard.

“It’s none of my business who Baran’s parents are,” Sheppard shrugged, “And it’s certainly not the IOA’s business.”

“What were you able to find Teyla?” EJ asked easily.

“The memory I located appeared to conform to what you specified,” Teyla stepped closer, “The Queen drained the life from the _Prima Trinitas_ many times before her hive was taken over and she was sent here with them. They opened the door for her and her soldiers. She fed on the one she called _Imperator_ and the Wraith began their experiments here. She tried to enlist the help of the one whose eyes matched yours, but he broke her control long enough to activate the fail-safe. The Queen managed to stop the ZPMs from exploding, but in doing so lost control of the systems here. After that, she…”

“Fed on the _Defensor_ and the _Iudex_ ,” EJ finished grimly.

“I’ve removed as much of the Wraith tech as I could safely,” Rodney told her, “But you’ll need to connect with the system to deactivate the countdown.”

“Same thing as last time?” EJ asked as she unclipped her P90, setting it on a nearby console.

“Yup,” Rodney set his tablet down and unclipped his own gun, “Will you be okay?”

“You bring those candy bars you promised, Sheppard?” EJ looked over at him.

“I did,” Sheppard agreed.

“I’ll be fine then. None of you,” EJ glared around the room, “better tell Carson I fainted again. I don’t want to spend another night in the infirmary.”

“What?” Sheppard asked curiously.

“You’ll see,” Daniel added his gun to Rodney’s and EJ’s, then stood behind her as she stepped up to the largest console near the ZPM.

“Don’t let go until I tell you, _Custodem_ ,” EJ put her left palm on the console and closed her eyes.

“I understand, _Verus Defensor_ ,” Rodney put his left hand on her arm, closing his own eyes.

Sheppard watched them curiously and after a minute, he realized Rodney and EJ’s bodies had become perfectly in sync. Every facial expression, every muscle twitch, every breath at exactly the same time. It was more than a little disconcerting to see. They spent almost ten minutes that way before Rodney finally opened his eyes and took a step back, taking a deep breath as he did. A minute later, EJ lifted her palm from the console and fell unconscious back against Daniel, who helped her gently to the ground.

“Got her, Danny?” Rodney asked, looking at EJ with concern.

“Yeah,” Daniel cradled her head against his legs, “You good?”

“It still feels weird when she does that,” Rodney shook his head, pulling a power bar from his vest, “I’m fine though. I’ll get the last of the crap off the ZedPM as soon as I finish this.”

“What did she just do?” Sheppard asked curiously.

“Our Atlantis,” Daniel looked up at him, “bound EJ to each of the other _Cultores_. Just like there’s an open connection from each of us to the City, there’s an open connection between us and EJ. The connection makes it so she always knows our location within range of the link and can contact us at any time.”

“Why did Atlantis do that?” Sheppard questioned.

“Apparently,” Rodney snorted, “We’re all reckless and too willing to risk our lives. Tizzy linked us that way so EJ could protect us.”

“ _You’re_ the reckless ones?” Sheppard asked incredulously.

“That’s what I said,” Rodney insisted.

“Technically, I think it was Evan that mentioned it,” Daniel corrected with a grin. 

“Whatever,” Rodney waved the power bar at him, “The point is, Tizzy decided that EJ would be able to protect us better that way. But, being EJ, of course she found a way to utilize the link in a different manner.”

“She can use the link to share memories or information between two of us,” Daniel explained, “Or in this case, she can widen the link between two _Cultores_ and force their minds in sync.”

“Having our minds in sync allows me to see everything she does in the system,” Rodney crumpled the empty wrapper and stuck it in his pocket, picking up his tablet once again, “It’s real-time, instantaneous information sharing. The system would only respond to the new _Defensor_ , but linking this way allows me to help her get around the Wraith coding and stop the countdown.”

“The downside is,” Daniel looked back to EJ, who was starting to stir, “It’s very draining to enter any system other than Atlantis and even more draining for EJ manipulate the link the way she did. It overwhelmed her body.”

“Why would she do something so taxing to her body at such a time?” Teyla asked softly, “Surely there must be another way.”

“ _Non aliam optionem_ ,” EJ blinked her eyes open, “ _Ego valeo. Sed necesse est, ut aliquid_.” [Latin: No other option.] [Latin: I’m fine. Just need to eat something.]

“English, EJ,” Daniel smiled down at her.

“ _Dicam illi nec sit latet_ ,” EJ ordered as she started to sit up, “ _Nescit. Et ponet faciem suam flip._ ” [Latin: Don't let her tell him about the babies.] [Latin: He doesn't know. He'll flip.]

“At such a time?” Sheppard glanced over to Teyla.

“She means after exerting so much energy with the Wraith Queen earlier,” Daniel gave Teyla a pointed look.

“Of course,” Teyla inclined her head.

“Can I have my chocolate now?” EJ asked, pouting up at Sheppard, “I need the sugar.”

“Now you have my team keeping secrets from me too?” Sheppard pulled out a candy bar from one of his vest pockets.

“It’s not a secret how much mental energy it takes to break Wraith bones,” EJ reached for the candy, only to have Sheppard hold it out of her reach.

“I’m pretty sure that’s not what you guys were talking about,” Sheppard drawled.

“Wasn’t it?” EJ tilted her head to the side, “What else could we be talking about, Sheppard?”

“You think you’re tricky, Sheppard,” Sheppard waggled the candy bar at her, “But I’m the one holding the chocolate. What are you really talking about?”

“I’m not trying to be tricky,” EJ insisted, “And if you don’t give me that candy, I’m going to tell Carson on you.”

“That would mean explaining why you needed it in the first place,” Sheppard smirked, “which would mean telling him you fainted.”

“Can I please have the chocolate you promised me?” EJ pouted.

“Don’t pull that puppy face on me,” Sheppard pointed a finger at her, “I’m immune.”

“Pretty please?” EJ stepped forward, batting her eyelashes at him.

“Not until you tell me,” Sheppard grinned.

“Give me the candy and I’ll tell you,” EJ offered with a hopeful smile.

“Do I look dumb to you?” Sheppard held his free hand up when EJ opened her mouth with a smirk, “Don’t answer that.”

“Give me the chocolate, Sheppard,” EJ put her hands on her hips and scowled at him, “Or I’m going to take it from you.”

“I don’t think so, Sheppard,” Sheppard shook his head with a grin, “I’m ready for you now. You won’t take me down so easily this time.”

“Want to bet?” EJ raised an eyebrow at him.

“Oh, for crying out loud,” Daniel rolled his eyes, “Stop flirting with each other. Sheppard, give her the candy. EJ, sit down, eat the chocolate, and _behave yourself_.”

“I am behaving myself,” EJ took the offered candy bar from John’s outstretched hand.

“And I wasn’t flirting,” Sheppard insisted.

“Yes,” Rodney looked up from the tablet with a snort, “You were. You _both_ were.”

“She started it.” “He started it.”

John and EJ spoke at the same time, then looked at each other, grins on both their faces as Rodney groaned and went back to his tablet.


	16. Chapter 16

When they finally made it back to Atlantis, it was already late in the evening and although Rodney carried a nearly fully-charged ZPM, Woolsey decided the debriefing could wait until the morning. Carson broke out the needles again, ignoring the complaints everyone sent his way, and after all the tests came back clear, he joined EJ, Rodney, and Daniel for a late dinner.

They were joined partway through the meal by Sheppard, Ronon, and Teyla and the seven of them stayed up late, sitting around the table laughing and comparing realities. When Teyla noticed EJ all but asleep in her chair, her head tucked into her chest and her eyes closed, she insisted that everyone go to bed, saying it had been a long day for everyone. After a bit of half-hearted grumbling in Ancient, Daniel and Rodney managed to get EJ settled in her guest quarters.

The next morning, after breakfast and a carefully worded debrief to Woolsey, Rodney, Daniel, EJ, and Zelenka made their way to Janus’ secret lab to start working on the alternate reality machine. Sheppard finished his morning duties and decided to check on them to make sure everything was going smoothly. He found the four of them at the end of the hallway, Rodney and Zelenka arguing furiously in English and Czech, yelling in each other’s faces, as Daniel leaned back against the wall and watched with a bored sort of amusement. EJ was sitting cross-legged on the floor again, her left palm against the floor and her head tilted back against the wall with her eyes closed.

“What are they arguing about this time?” Sheppard asked, joining Daniel in resting by the wall.

“The ZPM,” Daniel shrugged.

“Anything I need to be concerned about?” Sheppard questioned.

“Not at the moment, no,” Daniel shook his head, “maybe when they’re finished.”

“What about her?” Sheppard motioned to EJ.

“She’s inside the water filtration systems,” Daniel looked down at EJ, “I think.”

“Why?” Sheppard asked warily.

“Atlantis didn’t like the way they were configured,” Daniel shrugged, “They’re ‘inefficient’ according to her.”

“So Colonel Baran decided to fix them?” Sheppard wondered curiously, “Shouldn’t you all be working on getting home?”

“According to EJ,” Daniel smiled wryly, “Atlantis was being a bit of a nag. She decided since Radek and Rodney have been arguing for a while, without actually deciding anything, she would reconfigure the systems so Atlantis stop harassing her.”

“Why are you all out here in the hall instead of in the lab?” Sheppard looked back to the loud argument in front of him.

“The lab is completely shielded from the rest of Atlantis’ systems,” Daniel explained, “so EJ had to come out here to connect to the City. I came out here to keep an eye on her since she tends to lose track of her surroundings when she’s inside the City’s systems. Radek refused to stay in the room until they figured out the ZPM thing in case the machine malfunctions.”

“Sheppard,” Rodney turned to him suddenly, “You’re here. I need you to look at something.”

“How is Colonel Sheppard going to help?” Zelenka frowned as Rodney snatched the tablet from his hands.

“Because he’s been hiding the fact that he’s a math genius for years,” Rodney shoved the tablet at Sheppard.

“I haven’t been hiding anything,” Sheppard scowled at the tablet without taking it.

“Just look at the calculations, Sheppard,” Rodney rolled his eyes, “Zelenka won’t tell anyone you actually have brains. We need to get these calculations right so we can go home.”

“What am I looking at?” Sheppard took the tablet with a reluctant sigh.

“I want you to double-check the calculations for the power requirements,” Rodney explained, “Too much power will cause the machine to overload, but too little and we won’t be able to make it back. Everything you should need is in the open file.”

“We have plenty of scientists here,” Sheppard started scrolling through the screens, “that would be more than happy to check your calculations.”

“But they’re not you,” Rodney huffed, “As much as I hate to admit it, you’re better than me at applied math.”

“Wow, McKay,” Sheppard smirked, “I’m surprised you can admit I’m better than you at something without your head exploding.”

“ _Only_ at applied math,” Rodney insisted, “And don’t get used to it. After we go home, you’re never going to hear it again.”

“And chess,” EJ spoke up, “John beats you at chess most of the time.”

“Welcome back,” Daniel offered a hand and pulled EJ up.

“Thanks,” EJ grinned at Daniel, “She’s content for now. Filtration efficiency is up by forty-three percent.”

“He is _not_ better than me at chess,” Rodney asserted, “I win at least half the time.”

“Because he lets you,” EJ smirked.

“It’s true,” Sheppard started typing one-handed on the tablet, “I let McKay win most of the time so he doesn’t get cranky. I’m sure your Sheppard does the same.”

“Didn’t you say Sheppard was the only person in two realities that could beat you at chess?” Daniel asked innocently.

“That doesn’t sound like something I would say,” EJ glared at Daniel.

“Well, I suppose, technically,” Daniel continued, “you didn’t so much _say_ it as _think_ it.”

“HA!” Rodney grinned triumphantly.

“What are ‘ha-ing’ for Rodney?” EJ turned her glare to him instead, “All that means is _both_ of us are better at chess than you.”

“Wait a minute,” Rodney protested, ““That is _not_ what it means.”

“Chess is a game based on strategy,” EJ raised an eyebrow at him, “You really want to pretend that of the two of us, _you’re_ the better strategist?”

“She has a good point,” Daniel interjected.

“Whose side are you on?” Rodney and EJ both turned on Daniel.

“No side,” Daniel held up his hands in surrender, “I’m only making comments.”

“Who came up with these calculations?” Sheppard looked up from the tablet.

“Dr. Grimes, last night,” Zelenka answered as he took the tablet, “Why?”

“Grimes again?” Sheppard sighed, “Don’t let him near anything important until I can talk to McKay about getting rid of him. His calculations would have blown up most of this pier.”

“I told you calculations were incorrect, McKay,” Zelenka snorted.

“I didn’t say they were right,” Rodney grabbed the tablet away from Zelenka, “I said you were wrong about what was wrong with them.”

“Semantics,” Zelenka argued.

“Are you going to keep arguing with me,” Rodney keyed in the code to make the iridescent panel appear in the wall, “or are you going to come help with the ZedPM?”

“You are not the only one able to multi-task, Rodney,” Zelenka straightened his glasses, “After you.”

Rodney and Radek disappeared through the wall, already arguing again.

“Keep an eye on him?” EJ looked up at Daniel, “I’m going to go let Richard know we’ll be ready to leave this afternoon.”

“Only if you promise to stop by the mess and grab something to eat,” Daniel replied easily.

“I’m surrounded by mother-hens,” EJ threw her hands in the air, “Yes, Dr. Jackson, I will stop and eat something after I’m done with Richard.”

“ _Before_ you talk to Woolsey,” Daniel specified, “You haven’t eaten since breakfast this morning.”

“My eating habits are none of your concern,” EJ glared at Daniel.

“They are if you don’t want me to tell-” Daniel started.

“ _Before_ I go see Richard,” EJ agreed quickly.

“Good girl,” Daniel patted the top of EJ’s head, laughing at her aggravated expression as he went through the panel in the wall.

“Jackass,” EJ swore fondly before turning to Sheppard, “Come on, Colonel. I’ll buy you lunch.”

“Why _is_ everyone so concerned with your eating habits?” Sheppard fell into step next to EJ.

“They’re all under the mistaken impression that I don’t know how to take care of myself,” EJ rolled her eyes, “They worry too much.”

“Do you normally forget to eat?” Sheppard asked as they got to the transporter.

“Not at all,” EJ answered once the doors opened again.

“So what’s the big deal now then?” Sheppard glanced over to EJ, “Something to do with the secret everyone’s keeping from me?”

“Don’t be silly, Sheppard,” EJ grinned up at him, “Not _everyone_ is keeping a secret from you.”

 

_*Alternative*SGA*Alternative*SGA*Alternative*SGA*Alternative*_

 

EJ was sitting in Woolsey’s office with Sheppard, updating them both on Rodney’s progress when his annoyed voice came into her head.

 **Do they want to keep this ZedPM?** Rodney huffed.

 **I would assume so, why?** EJ replied easily.

 **Someone has to go with us then,** Rodney answered distractedly.

 **Hold on, I’m in the middle of Woolsey’s office,** EJ told him, rolling her eyes as she spoke to Woolsey, “Give me a minute please, Richard. I need to have a quick conversation with Rodney.”

“Of course,” Woolsey agreed easily, “I’ll be here for this rest of the afternoon. You can just come back whenever you’re finished.”

“Not necessary,” EJ assured him, “We can have the conversation from here.”

“I don’t think Dr. McKay has a radio,” Woolsey pointed out, “but you’re welcome to borrow mine.”

“I don’t need one,” EJ claimed, “Just a few minutes of quiet to figure out what he’s annoyed about.”

“Very well,” Woolsey replied cautiously.

 **Rodney?** EJ asked, **Explain why someone from their reality has to go back to ours if they want to keep the _potentia_ , in five minutes or less.**

 **Because Janus was a paranoid genius?** Rodney snarked.

 **McKay,** EJ warned, **If you make me come down there, I’m going to kick you somewhere very unpleasant.**

 **The machine doesn’t just transport the people in the room,** Rodney explained, **It transports the entire room. Literally, the room itself. That’s why our tablets and everything else in the room was transported with us.**

 **Okay…what does that have to do with the _potentia_? **  

**There’s no way to keep the panel open and hook up the ZedPM from the hallway, because as soon as the machine is turned on, all the circuits lock up. Some sort of safety measure I guess.**

**And if we hook up the _potentia_ from the inside, it gets transported along with us.**

**Exactly. We have the recharger in our reality, so we don’t really have a use for this ZedPM. Their Atlantis, on the other hand…**

**Needs in a lot more than we do,** EJ mentally sighed, **I assume you figured out how to make the machine send someone back to a specific reality?**

 **Once I had Janus’ notes, it was easy,** Rodney scoffed, **I can make it send us anywhere we want.**

 **That’s not what I meant, Rodney,** EJ rolled her eyes, **I was thinking more along the lines of making sure whoever came with us would actually be able to return _here_ , rather than ending up somewhere they shouldn’t.**

 **Yeah, I can set the machine up so all they would have to do would be push the button,** Rodney insisted, **I need another hour to make some final adjustments to everything, then we should be good to go.**

 **You _do_ know this means we won’t be able to study anything in the lab further,** **right?** EJ asked cautiously, **Is there anything worthwhile we need to copy or take out before we send it back?**

**Other than this machine, not really. I’d like to spend a bit more time with it.**

**That means either we’re stuck here longer or someone from here is stuck in our reality. Just copy everything about the machine onto a couple hard drives and you can study it from there.**

**But that’s not the same as studying the real thing,** Rodney protested, **I can only get so far with notes and schematics. There’s a certain amount of practical-**

 **No,** EJ cut Rodney off.

**But I could-**

**No.**

**But there are so many-**

**No.**

**I could send you and-**

**_Rodney_ , no. Copy the information and finish your adjustments. We’re leaving in an hour, as soon as you’re done.**

**Fine,** Rodney pouted, **But I just want you to know you could be getting in the way of a very important scientific advancement.**

 **I’m sure, somehow, I’ll live with that knowledge,** EJ replied wryly.

She turned to eye Sheppard speculatively, “Feel like taking a quick field trip, Colonel Sheppard?”


	17. Chapter 17

EJ shook hands with Woolsey, standing outside the small lab, saying her final goodbyes.  

“It was quite interesting to meet you again, Richard,” EJ spoke politely.

“You as well, EJ,” Richard offered a small smile, “It was an illuminating experience.”

“Ronon,” EJ looked up to the taller man, only to be enveloped in strong arms as he picked up her for a fierce hug.

“Put me down, _kunane_ ,” EJ laughed, “Before you break me.”

“Be good, _kaina_ ,” Ronon released her with a final squeeze.

Teyla stepped forward, putting her hands on EJ’s shoulders and tilting their foreheads together, “I wish you every happiness, EJ.”

“And I you, Teyla,” EJ smiled as Teyla stepped back.

“ _Nedovolte, aby McKay vás tlačit kolem, když se vrátí_ ,” EJ commanded easily as she shook hands with Radek. [Czech: Don't let McKay push you around when he gets back.]

“ _Nikdy jsem to_ ,” Radek grinned as he dropped her hand. [Czech: I never do.]

“I have something for you, lass,” Carson held out a small glossy piece of paper, folded carefully in half, “I figured since it was the first one, you’d want to keep it.”

EJ unfolded the paper, smiling softly as she refolded it and put it carefully in her shirt pocket.

“Thank you, Carson,” EJ put a hand on his shoulder, reaching up to press a gentle kiss to his cheek, “For this and everything else. I’m glad I got a chance to meet you.”

“Me too, love,” Carson flushed pink as EJ stepped back.

“Evan,” EJ wrapped her arms around Lorne for a quick hug.

“EJ,” Lorne smiled affectionately as she stepped back.

EJ stepped close to the wall, setting her left palm against the blue-green.

**Treat them well, Atlantis.**

** Understood, Emmaline. **

**I am modifying my previous order. You can give John, Evan, Carson, and Rodney any personal information regarding me that they ask for, but _only_ them and _only_ if they ask.**

** Understood, Emmaline. Inquiry: Will you return? **

**No, I won’t. I have to go back to my reality, to my family, to my Atlantis.**

** Understood, Emmaline. I believe the appropriate phrase in this context is: It was a pleasure to meet you. **

**It was a pleasure to meet you too, Atlantis,** EJ smiled as she dropped her hand.

“Come on, Colonel,” EJ tapped the sequence on the wall to make the iridescent panel appear, “We’ll have you back in no time.”

Sheppard followed EJ through the panel to the small lab where Daniel and Rodney where already waiting.

“We good to go, Rodney?” EJ asked easily.

“All set,” Rodney pressed several of the crystal controls on the large console in the center of the room.

“You sure this thing is going to work?” Sheppard questioned warily, “I’ll be able to get back here with the ZPM?”  

“Like, eighty-three percent certain, yeah,” Rodney nodded.

“That’s not reassuring, McKay,” Sheppard rolled his eyes.

“It’s Janus’,” Daniel shrugged, “That’s about as sure as any of us can get.”

“Here we go,” Rodney pressed the large square crystal at the top of the console and a bright wash of light filled the room.

“Did it work?” Daniel wondered as he looked around the room.

EJ walked over to the control panel in the wall, tapping the correct sequence to make the panel appear, “Let’s find out, shall we?”

Daniel and Rodney walked through, followed closely by Sheppard and EJ. Sheppard was met with the sight of Vala launching herself onto Daniel, wrapping her legs around his waist and kissing him all over his face as he laughed. Rodney broke away from a sweet, gentle kiss to kneel in front of a heavily pregnant Jennifer, putting both his hands on her swollen stomach and murmuring nonsense in Ancient as Jennifer smiled serenely down at him.

Sheppard looked past them to see another version of himself, dressed neatly in similar black BDUs, his weapons clipped to his thighs in a mirror image of EJ’s, his right forearm covered in the same pale blue-silver symbols as EJ.

EJ stepped close to John, placing her left hand over his heart as he covered it with his own, matching dark silver ring on his ring finger, smiling softly down at her. The gesture should’ve seemed casual compared to Daniel and Rodney’s homecoming, but it was somehow more intimate.

“You’re late, _dulcis_ ,” John spoke quietly.

“Sorry, _carissime_ ,” EJ returned John’s easy smile, “You know how Rodney is with time.”

“Have fun while you were gone?” John asked as they both dropped their hands.

“Loads,” EJ assured him, “I got to kill Jane again.”

“How’d that go for you?” John drawled.

“Much more satisfying this time,” EJ replied carefully.

“I see you made a new friend,” John looked over her shoulder to Sheppard.

“He was just so cute,” EJ turned around to face Sheppard again, “I decided to bring him home with me.”

“You’re not keeping him,” John insisted.

“But I promised to feed and water him all by myself,” EJ protested with a grin, “And take him for walks every day.”

“Sure, you say that now, Emma,” John argued, “But you’ll get distracted with some other new toy and then I’ll be the one taking care of him.”

“I’m not a toy,” Sheppard huffed, “or a lost puppy that followed you home. I’m only here to take back the ZPM.”

“You’re no fun, Sheppard,” EJ laughed, “Colonel John Sheppard, meet Lt. Colonel John Sheppard. You two have a lot in common.”

“I’m sure we do,” John drawled.

“Rodney,” EJ looked over to where Rodney was once again standing, fingers interlaced with Jennifer’s, “You want to go reset the machine so Sheppard can get home?”

“Sure,” Rodney agreed easily, “Should only take me a couple minutes.”

“After that, all three of you are coming to the infirmary,” Jennifer commanded.

“Jen,” EJ whined, “I’ve had four exams in three days. I know you had Tizzy scan all of us as soon as we stepped through the wall. Are the needles really necessary?”

“For them, no,” Jennifer rubbed a hand on her belly, “You, yes. I figured you’d be more inclined to go if I included both of them.”

“That’s not fair,” EJ pouted, “Why are they excused and not me?”

“You know very well why,” Jennifer gave EJ a pointed look.

“Em, what’s she talking about?” John asked curiously.

“Ummm,” EJ looked up at John nervously.

“Emma,” John searched her face, “Why are you blocking me?”

“It’s…uhhh…” EJ started nervously.

“I’m going to go reset the machine now,” Rodney tapped on the wall and went through quickly.

“Emmaline,” John warned.

EJ opened her shirt pocket, pulling out the glossy, folded paper that Carson had given her and handed it wordlessly to John. He unfolded it and his eyes widened as he saw the image.

“Is this…?” John asked quietly.

“Yes,” EJ answered softly.

“You’re…”

“Yes.”

“I’m…”

“Yes.”

“How long have you…?”

“I only found out three days before we left. I was going to tell you as an anniversary present yesterday.”

“There’s two,” John looked up finally.

“That’s what I said,” EJ nodded.

The paper fluttered to the floor as John raised his hands to cup EJ face, backing her up against the closest wall as he leaned down for a passionate kiss. EJ’s hands fisted in the back of John’s shirt, holding him close.

“I thought we had agreed they wouldn’t do that in public anymore,” Vala said as Daniel bent down to pick up the paper, “The two of them are so horribly attractive, it’s terribly distracting for the rest of us.”

“I think we can make an exception this time,” Daniel grinned as he handed Vala the small image.

“Oh!” Vala exclaimed excitedly, bouncing over to Jennifer, “Jen, look! There’s _two_! At the _same time_.”

“And apparently they’re trying for a third,” Jennifer stated dryly, watching as John slid his hand under the front of EJ’s shirts to splay his fingers over her belly.

Sheppard cleared his throat loudly, making John and EJ pull apart slowly, both flushed and more than a little breathless. John kept his hand spread over EJ’s stomach and a brilliant smile spread across his face as he tilted his forehead to meet hers.

“You’re going to the infirmary with Jen,” John ordered easily.

“Okay,” EJ smiled goofily up at him.

“If I’d have known that was all it took to make you stop arguing,” Sheppard drawled, “I’d have kissed you days ago.”

EJ laughed as John turned around to scowl at Sheppard.

“He’s only kidding, John,” EJ assured him.

“I’ll just bet,” John finally stepped back from EJ, dropping his hand from her belly.

“Although,” EJ said thoughtfully, “He's a pretty good dancer. You sure we can’t keep him?”

“Emmaline,” John wrapped a hand around her wrist, pulling her against him again, “I don’t share, even with myself.”

“You’re mean, Sheppard,” EJ fake-pouted, tilting her head back to meet his gaze.

“Suck it up, Sheppard,” John pressed another kiss to her mouth and released her.

“It’s been fun, Colonel,” EJ stepped closer to Sheppard, leaning up to press a kiss to his cheek, “Take care.”

“You too,” Sheppard grinned over her shoulder at John before leaning down to kiss her cheek in return.

“All right,” John insisted, scowling at Sheppard, “That’s enough.”

“Come on, Jen,” EJ laughed as she linked her arm through Jennifer’s, “Let’s go to the infirmary and you can poke holes in me.”

“We’re going too, darling,” Vala pulled Daniel down the hall after the two women, “Nicola has been asking for you the past three days. She misses her Daddy.”

After the four of them were out of hearing range, Sheppard turned to John.

“She’s pregnant, isn’t she?” Sheppard asked carefully.

“Yeah,” John smiled brightly, “Twins.”

“Damn it,” Sheppard huffed, “I knew she was hiding something important. She convinced my team to keep secrets from me.”

“Emma’s good at secrets,” John’s expression turned serious as he pulled a small flash drive from his pocket, “Speaking of secrets, here.”

“What’s this?” Sheppard asked as he took the small flash drive.

“Everything you need to get rid of the traitor in the IOA and the one in Homeland Security,” John declared calmly, “And everything you need to find Emmaline when it’s done.”

“Why are you giving this to me?” Sheppard asked cautiously.

“I’m not doing it for you,” John stated evenly, “I’m doing it for Emma and for Atlantis. She deserves to have a home and Atlantis is better with her here.”

“You sound awfully sure of that,” Sheppard drawled as he stuck the flash drive in his pocket.

“I am,” John answered easily, “You’ll understand when you read the files.”

“You just happened to be carrying something like this with you?” Sheppard questioned.

“Nope,” John smirked, “I saw them coming back about an hour ago. That’s why Vala, Jen, and I were waiting here.”

“You _saw_ them?” Sheppard wondered curiously.

“Ask Dave about Mom,” John answered mysteriously as Rodney reemerged from the wall.

“It’s all set, Colonel Sheppard,” Rodney announced, “Just press the square crystal at the top. You remember the code to open the panel?”

“Sure do,” Sheppard agreed easily.

“Good,” Rodney nodded, “Zelenka knows how to unhook the ZedPM and he can seal off the room if that’s what you guys want to do. I also gave him everything I could remember about the facility on Videtur. You guys should be able to get it up and running in a couple weeks.”

“Thanks, McKay,” Sheppard shook his hand, then gave John half a smile, “You going to kiss my cheek good-bye too?”

“Maybe if you buy me dinner first,” John drawled, “I’m not that kind of boy, Colonel.”

“And here I always thought I was pretty easy, Colonel,” Sheppard smirked.

“Please,” Rodney rolled his eyes heavily, “For the love of my sanity. _Please_ …stop flirting with yourself and go home.”

Sheppard laughed as he tapped on the wall and stepped through.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was another of those stories that was supposed to be short but then accidently-on-purpose exploded into something bigger. I'm not sorry, it was fun. Thanks for taking the time to read the whole thing and I hope you enjoyed it! Don't forget to check out the rest of this series. 
> 
> Questions, comments, and kudos are always appreciated!

**Author's Note:**

> Check out my tumblr - truestargoddess- for Stargate related things!


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